One After Another, Typhoons Hitting Japan

Pedestrians in Japan struggle in Typhoon Phanfone.
Photo by Takanori Ichikawa/AP  

A typhoon named Phanfone slammed Japan as expected today, dropping up to 19 inches of drenching rain, and  causing a big, gusty day in Tokyo and other major cities.

What's worse, another typhoon is expected to hit Japan later in the week or early next week.

Phanfone killed three U.S. servicemen in Guam when waves they were watching from shore swept them out to sea.

Of course, there was also flooding, and transportation headaches as flights and bullet train service was suspended.

One of the biggest fears was that flooding rains from the typhoon will cause debris flows from the deep piles of ash from the volcano Ontake that erupted a couple weeks ago, killing about 50 people then.  These debris flows could crash down on populated areas, causing more loss of life and property damage.

The next typhoon, named Vongfong, is expected to become what is known as a super-typhoon with winds of 150 mph or more by Wednesday.

Typhoons usually weaken a little by the time they reach central Japan. Vongfong will probably do that, but its torrential rains, falling on a thoroughly soaked landscape left behind by Phanfone, could cause some wicked flooding in Japan, which has already seen its share of nasty flooding this year.

We can always hope that Vongfong will unexpectedly steer clear of Japan, but I'm not holding my breath.