http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201609190006.html
2016-09-19 14:38 JST 2016 http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201609190006.html Quake-hit art museum finds temporary home in Nagasaki：The Asahi ShimbunSAIKAI, Nagasaki Prefecture--After Katsuhiko Ono's art museum was forced to shutter its doors becaus https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201609190006.html?utm_i … ↗ View original post on Facebook For a link to the original post on Facebook, open this page on a computer. Reactions: 0 · Comments: 0 ← 2016-09-19 12:10 JST 2016-09-19 14:54 JST → Around this time … 2016-09-20 13:38 JSTThe typhoon has left our area and, thankfully, it doesn't seem to have caused major problems in Kumamoto Prefecture. Miyazaki, however, was not so lucky. There was both flooding (e.g. the image from a Sankei Shimbun article I have appended) and wind damage. As I wrote earlier, when typhoons come from the south, their counterclockwise spin makes their impact greater on the east side of Kyushu than on the west, where we are. I suspect that the bad results for Miyazaki were due to the fact that the wind and rain that hit them was coming directly from the sea. By the same logic, Kumamoto is more vulnerable when typhoons come from the west or northwest.-- Kirkhttp://www.sankei.com/west/photos/160920/wst1609200039-p2.html 2016-09-19 21:12 JSTCalls for evacuation have been issued in some areas, particularly those vulnerable to landslides. The image you see is only a sample. To see all notices, go to the following link:http://crisis.yahoo.co.jp/evacuation/43/To translate the Japanese contents into English, use the translate function on the Chrome browser.On a more positive note, based on what I saw on tonights 7PM NHK news, it looks like the storm will be on it's way northeast by 8 or 9 tomorrow morning. In other words, the worst is likely to be over for those of us in Kumamoto by the time the sun comes up.-- Kirk 2016-09-19 17:59 JSTHere's an update on the infrared animation showing the approach of the typhoon. As you can see, the eye of the storm has just disappeared (a good sign) and the system is heading for Kagoshima.http://www.jma.go.jp/jp/gms/index.html?area=0&element=0-- Kirk 2016-09-19 17:04 JSTEarlier today, I wrote about the possibility of strong winds. The following YouTube video (in Japanese, unfortunately) points to the danger from heavy rain in Kyushu -- as much as 30 centimeters:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-p6z111SUoOn the other hand, my university (Kumamoto Gakuen University) has decided to go ahead with classes. Students have been advised to attend class is they feel they can get to the university safely:http://www.kumagaku.ac.jp/news/archives/1089 -- Kirk 2016-09-19 14:54 JSTThis image may look somewhat less threatening than what I posted earlier, but it's actually an indication or a greater threat -- Category 1 or higher winds. Category 1 winds are between 119 and 153 kph (74-95 mph). Imagine sticking your hand out of a moving car traveling at that kind of speed and that should give you an idea of the power of such winds. The storm itself is now a Category 3 cyclone (178-208 kph or 111-129 mph). It is not on course to hit us directly but it's coming close enough for us to take notice. In the northern hemisphere cyclones (typhoons, hurricanes, etc) spin counterclockwise (see the video I posted here earlier today). This is good for us when a storm comes from the south because the winds must travel over land before they reach us -- they don't come directly from the sea. Land offers more resistance and tends to slow them down. Still, this storm looks like one that deserves to be treated with respect. Even if the winds don't cause mush damage in Kumamoto, there is significant risk of rain-related disasters (flooding, landslides, etc.). Kumamoto is quiet now but the "quiet before the storm" can be deceiving. Take care!-- Kirkhttp://tropicalstormrisk.com 2016-09-19 14:38 JSTQuake-hit art museum finds temporary home in Nagasaki：The … (this post) 2016-09-19 12:10 JSTHere's a nice video news report about yesterday's festival. The video will probably be taken down soon (videos put up on this site never last long) so, if you're interested, take a look now.The headline says that the festival was held in hopes of speeding Kumamoto's recovery. Some felt that festivities of this kind would be inappropriate after such a great loss but the idea that the festival should be held as a sign of Kumamoto's determination to recover won out.-- Kirkhttp://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newseye2871913.html 2016-09-19 10:14 JSTHere's an infrared animation of the approaching storm. It begins yesterday morning and shows how it has moved over the past 24 hours. Note the distinct "eye" (hole) in the middle. A clear eye is an indication of power.http://www.jma.go.jp/jp/gms/index.html?area=0&element=0-- Kirk 2016-09-19 10:04 JSTAccording to Tropicalstormrisk.com, we are almost certain to experience tropical storm winds in the next 24 hours. Category 1 winds will significantly less likely for us but may hit the Kagoshima area.-- Kirkhttp://tropicalstormrisk.com 2016-09-18 17:00 JSTMore items being given away on the Kumamoto-i mailing list . . .https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/kumamoto-i/conversations/messages/13440-- Kirk 2016-09-18 10:32 JSTAccording to Tropicalstormrisk.com, we are quite likely to experience tropical storm winds on Tuesday, 48 hours from now. My guess would be that the main danger to people in Kumamoto will be the possibility of landslides and flooding due to sudden, intense rain. However, the winds may cause issues as well. Fortunately, however, the wind speeds should be significantly lower when the storm arrives than they are at the moment. At any rate, please be aware of any risks you may face in your particular area and take steps as needed to insure your safety. I'll post more about this as the storm gets closer.-- KIrkP.S. The probability of tropical storm winds is so high that it's hard to see the outline of Kyushu on the map. The border between the purple and red part of the predictive image is about where Kumamoto is.http://www.tropicalstormrisk.com
