A tornado that struck a central Japan city last week during Typhoon Peipah was one of the strongest ever recorded in the country, packing winds of around 270 kilometers per hour, Japan’s weather agency said Monday.
The tornado that struck Makinohara and other areas in Shizuoka Prefecture on Friday logged the third-highest rating on Japan’s tornado intensity scale, which goes up to 5 and has been in use since 2016, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
As of 2 p.m. Monday, a total of 89 people had been confirmed injured in connection with the typhoon and tornado, while about 1,900 properties were damaged or flooded, according to the prefectural government.
Chubu Electric Power Grid Co. said that as of 4:30 p.m., power had been restored to all homes in Makinohara that lost electricity due to the tornado.
“It was unbearably hot without air conditioning. Now I can finally sleep in peace. It feels like we’ve taken a step toward normal life,” said Yoshihiro Nishitani, a 72-year-old farmer who said his house had regained electricity that morning.
In a meeting with staff, Shizuoka Gov. Yasutomo Suzuki stressed the need to prevent disaster-related deaths as recovery and reconstruction could take some time.
Strong gusts struck Makinohara and surrounding areas on Friday as the year’s 15th typhoon made landfall and advanced eastward along the Pacific coast. The weather agency confirmed Sunday that the winds in the city were classified as a tornado.
The agency said it classified the tornado’s intensity a 3 on the so-called Japanese Enhanced Fujita Scale after finding that exterior wall materials of steel-framed shops had been blown away.
A tornado that hit Ie Island in Okinawa Prefecture in 2018 also registered a JEF 3.