Photo/Illutration A street is flooded in Mobara, Chiba Prefecture, on Sept. 8. (Wataru Nakano)

Typhoon No. 13 is not expected to make landfall in Honshu as it will turn into a tropical cyclone on Sept. 8, but heavy rain and thunder were still likely in the Tokai, Kanto-Koshin and Tohoku regions through the following day.

Just before 8 a.m. on Sept. 8, the Japan Meteorology Agency announced that a linear rainband has developed in the southern part of the Izu island chain.

Linear rainbands were also reported in northwestern and southern parts of Chiba Prefecture at 10 a.m. and in the northeastern part of the prefecture 20 minutes later. 

As of 3 p.m., the typhoon is traveling about 180 kilometers south-southwest of Omaezaki, Shizuoka Prefecture, slowly moving northeastward. 

It had a central pressure of 1,000 hectopascals and a maximum wind speed of 64.8 kph near the center. Maximum instantaneous wind speeds clocked 90 kph.

In Mobara, Chiba Prefecture, 371.5 millimeters of rain fell in the 12 hours to 3:40 p.m.. on Sept. 8, the highest 12-hour rainfall amount ever recorded in the area.

Roads were flooded at many locations in the city.

By 10 a.m., Level 4 evacuation orders were issued in some areas of the prefecture, including Chiba, Tateyama, Kimitsu and Mobara. 

The typhoon is expected to become a tropical low-pressure system after 9 p.m. on Sept. 8 and reach Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture, at 9 a.m. the following day.

In the 24 hours until 6 a.m. on Sept. 9, the JMA is forecasting 250 mm of rainfall in the Kanto-Koshin and Tokai regions, 200 mm in the Izu islands and 120 mm in the Tohoku region.

The agency said rainfall may increase locally if a linear rainband develops, warning against flooding, landslides, and rising and overflowing rivers.

East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) already announced on Sept. 7 the cancellation of some trains.

All trains on the Ito and Kururi lines, as well as those running between Odawara and Atami on the Tokaido Line, have been canceled from the first trains of the day until around noon on Sept. 8.

The Ome Line will be stopped between Ome and Okutama, as will the Hachiko Line between Komagawa and Yorii from the first trains in the morning until around 4 p.m on the same day.

In addition, there were also suspensions on the Uchibo and Sotobo lines.

According to Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai), as of 7:30 a.m. on Sept. 8, the Tokaido Shinkansen operated normally from the start, but intermittent rain continues to fall along the line and there is a possibility that operations may be suspended depending on weather conditions.

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