Deadly Typhoon Tears Through Japan — Wooden Homes Crumble, Roads Split Open, Kanto on Edge!

A large tornado powerful enough to destroy houses has occurred

A violent gust of wind reaching 75 meters per second struck a residential area, wreaking havoc over a wide 6–7 km stretch—roofs were blown away, utility poles snapped in two.

A woman in her seventies recalled her terrifying experience:

“Suddenly, the storm shutters were ripped off and the window glass shattered to pieces. Then came an incredible crashing sound—baribari bari!—and the whole house shook violently. It felt as if a typhoon and a massive earthquake had hit at the same time. I rushed upstairs in panic, only to find there was no roof. Looking outside, the car parked in front of the house had all its windows smashed, and the neighborhood was completely destroyed—the scene had changed beyond recognition.”

What struck her home was the so-called killer tornado that formed in Shizuoka Prefecture on September 5 under the influence of Typhoon No. 15. According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the tornado tore through an area from Makinohara City to Yoshida Town around 12:50 p.m., packing winds of 75 m/s and devastating an estimated 6–7 kmstretch. As of September 16, 1,750 houses in the prefecture were damaged by the typhoon and tornado combined, 83 people were injured, and a man in his 50s died after being caught in the tornado while still in his car.

“This tornado ranks among the strongest ever observed in Japan. Wooden houses were completely destroyed, and asphalt was peeled off roads. A similar-scale tornado hit Saroma, Hokkaido in November 2006, killing nine people—debris carried by the winds was found some 20 kilometers away in the Sea of Okhotsk,” explained a reporter from a national newspaper’s social affairs section.

About a week after the disaster, when reporters visited the severely damaged Hosoe district of Makinohara City, many homes were still covered with blue tarps where roofs and tiles had been blown away. On the hills just behind the residential area, trees had been uprooted across a wide area.

“Utility poles collapsed, multiple cars overturned, and about 22,950 households lost power, while 44 homes were without running water. Rebuilding the damaged houses will likely take more than six months,” said an official from Shizuoka Prefecture’s Crisis Management Division.

Tornadoes are not rare, isolated disasters. In recent years, they struck Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture, in October 2019 (one dead, nine injured) and Miyazaki City, Miyazaki Prefecture, in August 2024 (30 injured). Professor Yoshihiro Tachibana of Mie University, who studies meteorology and climate dynamics, warns that global warming is behind the increase nationwide.

“Typhoon No. 15 wasn’t large in scale, yet such an intense tornado formed because sea surface temperatures were about 3°C higher than average. The typhoon’s southern winds carried in huge amounts of water vapor from the ocean, while the scorching summer heat created strong updrafts near the ground—conditions ideal for a powerful tornado. As global warming raises sea temperatures around Japan, tornadoes are likely to become more frequent through autumn. The Kanto region, with its coastal plains and dense population, is particularly at risk. A massive tornado hitting a major urban area could cause catastrophic damage.”

When a tornado is about to form, warning signs such as lightning, sudden gusts of cold air, or ominous cloud movements often appear. If you notice these signs—take immediate caution.

From the October 3-10, 2025 issue