Typhoon Jebi Hits Japan, Killing At Least 6 People

A powerful typhoon has made landfall in western Japan, causing extensive damage and multiple deaths.

At least six people have died as a result of Typhoon Jebi, according to Japan's public broadcaster, NHK. And thousands of people have been stranded at Kansai International Airport, located on an artificial island in Osaka Bay, after flooding and damage to the bridge leading to the airport.

Based on its wind speeds, Jebi was classified as "very strong" by Japan's weather agency. The last "very strong" typhoon that made landfall in Japan was in 1993, Kyodo News reports.

As it approached the archipelago, Jebi had winds of more than 100 miles per hour, the news agency writes.

The six deaths reported so far include a man killed in the collapse of a warehouse facility, and a man who fell from the second story of his house, Japan Times reports.

More than 1.6 million customers lost power in the storm, NHK reports, and some parts of central and western Japan are under evacuation advisories.

In Osaka, roofs and scaffolding were peeled off buildings, Channel News Asia reports. Photos and video show vehicles that were blown off course or knocked on their side.

Video captured in Kyoto shows the glass ceiling of Kyoto Station breaking or partially collapsing, sending chunks of glass falling toward commuters below.

Kansai International Airport, a major transportation hub, has been entirely shut down. Runways were flooded — "several planes were submerged up to their engines," NHK reports, citing officials at Japan's transport ministry.

An anchored oil tanker in Osaka Bay, caught up by the storm, was sent crashing into the bridge that connects the airport to the main island of Honshu.

Eleven crew members were stranded on the tanker, NHK reports, and only two of them could be rescued before rescue operations "had to be called off because of a ruptured gas pipe."

The bridge was damaged in the accident, leaving thousands of people trapped inside the airport's terminal — NHK estimates about 3,000 people are stuck, while Japan Times reports 2,650 stranded travelers.

Flights won't be resuming until Wednesday evening at the earliest, Japan Times reports.

After passing over Osaka and Kyoto, Jebi is expected to rake along or near the western edge of Japan as it travels north, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

As of Tuesday morning ET, the storm still had sustained winds of more than 75 miles per hour and was classified as a strong storm, but over the course of the next day it is expected to weaken significantly.

Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.