Typhoon hits Japan causing landslides and cancelled flights

Uncriticized Desai (0:00)

This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.

I'm Uncle Desai, and at 4 o'clock GMT on Monday the 21st of September, these are our main stories. A powerful typhoon is being felt in Tokyo, with police urging more than 1.5 million people in the Tokyo area to evacuate. A huge Belgian-led international police operation targeting drugs gangs has seen nearly 500 people arrested, mainly in Latin America. Officials in Gaza have announced plans to evacuate and demolish more than 250 buildings because they're at risk of collapsing.

Also in this podcast, as expected in Russia's parliamentary elections, President Putin's United Russia Party is on course to retain its constitutional majority. So what impact will this result have? And a trial in the UK monitors how gadgets and sensors might help people with dementia live in their own homes.

Sarah Daniels (0:54)

That's the power of technology. We're trying to spot early signs that things might be going wrong, and we can keep people at home and out of hospital.

Uncriticized Desai (1:07)

We begin in Japan, where a powerful typhoon is battering the country's capital, Tokyo.

Typhoon Dojoan has forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights and prompted warnings of record-breaking rainfall. 1.9 million people have been urged to evacuate, and several major events have been cancelled. This typhoon is the latest in a wave of storms in the Pacific, made more intense by this year's Super El Nino. I got the latest from our correspondent in Tokyo, Kurumi Mori.

Kurumi Mori (1:40)

It sure is powerful. I mean, I woke up this morning to quite light rains here in Shibuya, which is where the Tokyo BBC studios are located, and it turned. I mean, it was heavy rains, strong winds this afternoon. Just in the past hour, it's gotten way dark, and the rain has been stronger and stronger. There have been special warnings all day coming from the government. I've had mobile alerts go off all day. Something we are watching right now is this river called Meguro River that runs through Tokyo from Shibuya, Setagaya, Meguro, and into Tokyo Bay.

I just spoke to a resident who lives near there, and he's been seeing over the past just two hours, just the rise in the level of this river. And so he's concerned. We want to make sure that residents are evacuating if they are on the ground floor, the elderly. But it's definitely something we're watching here in Tokyo today.

Uncriticized Desai (2:36)

And Kurumi, I guess the wider impact is it's impacting rail services, air services, and also some of the big events as well that are taking place. The Tokyo Game Show and of course the Asian Games. We're over athletes from over 40 countries are attending.

Kurumi Mori (2:49)

That's right. A lot of impact here. This is Silver Week, which is a holiday week for Japan today, tomorrow and Wednesdays are their public holidays. So although there are not many commuters out on the streets, thankfully, there are a lot of tourists here, a lot of people hoping to travel. But a lot of cancellations happening, whether it's the local trains, the bullet trains, the Shinkansen bullet trains and also flights. Now we're seeing about 400 cancellations at two of Tokyo's major airports, Haneda and Narita. Also Prime Minister Takaichi was set to leave for New York. Her flight has been delayed to now 11 p.m. tonight for the UNGA.

And then events, Tokyo Game Show canceled its last day today because of the typhoon and the Nagoya Asian Games have some events in Tokyo like swimming in Equestria. And Equestria delayed its events today and pushed it to tomorrow.

Uncriticized Desai (3:43)

And Karumi, are we likely to see an impact across East Asia with this typhoon?

Kurumi Mori (3:47)

As of now, what we're tracking is that after it hits the Kanto region, the central area near Tokyo, it's supposed to kind of swerve up and away into the ocean. So it's not set to impact other parts of Asia at the moment. But you never know because some of the trajectory may change.

Uncriticized Desai (4:05)

Karumi Mori in Tokyo.

Nearly 500 people have been arrested in a major transatlantic operation against criminal gangs. Belgian federal police, which led the raids, say large amounts of drugs, firearms and ammunition were seized, mainly in Latin America. Our Europe correspondent, Nick Beek, reports.

Nick Beek (4:24)

More than 370 of these arrests were made in Costa Rica, where raids targeted a criminal network, allegedly being protected by senior judicial and security figures, which were sending vast amounts of drugs to Europe. In Paraguay, a record amount of cannabis was said to have been seized. In Ireland, police dismantled what is believed to be the country's first known cocaine processing laboratory.