Typhoon Mireille

Map of the main islands of Japan

Ahead of the storm, the JMA issued 99 typhoon bulletins, warning residents about Mireille. There were 236 warnings related to storm surge, high winds, waves, and flooding. In Hiroshima, most residents were aware of the approaching storm, about 70% of residents did not expect significant effects. In general, residents were unprepared for the storm, partly due to the lack of recent storms.[7] Transportation in Japan was disrupted after 480 domestic flights cancelled, stranding 58,000 individuals,[15] and road, rail, and ferry traffic was halted.[16] In Hokkaido, 207 schools were closed due to the storm.[17]

Mireille was the strongest typhoon to hit Japan since Typhoon Nancy in 1961, causing heavy damage in 41 of 47 prefectures.[18] It was the third storm to strike Japan in two weeks.[8] Damage was heaviest on Kyushu where the storm made landfall.[12] Because the storm moved northeastward through the Sea of Japan, the eastern quadrant of the storm crossed over much of the country, which is where the strongest winds in tropical cyclones are located.[19] The high winds downed trees, damaged roofs,[12] and left record power outages,[18] affecting 7.36 million people, or about 13% of total customers.[7] In some areas, the power outages lasted as little as three minutes.[20] The storm damaged over 670,000 houses, of which 1,058 were destroyed,[7] and another 22,965 were flooded.[21] Power outages caused at least five factories to shut down production.[22] Along the coast, the typhoon damaged 930 ships,[21] with dozens sunk or blown ashore.[18] Most of the damage was related to agriculture or forests.[7] Sea spray heavily damaged fruit trees and rice paddies.[7] Crop damage amounted to $3 billion, mostly to the apple industry,[2] after 345,000 tons of apples fell to the ground and another 43,000 were damaged on the trees. Most farms lost 80% of their crop, potentially taking 10 years to regrow.[23] Persistent cloudiness and rainfall following the storm diminished sunlight by 50%, furthering crop damage.[24] There were 62 deaths in Japan and 2,862 injuries,[7] including the deaths on the South Korean freighter,[2] making it the deadliest typhoon there in 10 years.[7] About 80% of the deaths were male, and 70% were over 60 years old. Most of the deaths were related to wind-blown debris, falling due to the wind, or being trapped or struck by fallen objects.[25] The $6 billion in insured losses and $10 billion in overall damage made Mireille the costliest typhoon on record as of January 2015, according to Munich Re.[26]

When Mireille moved through western Japan, it brought strong winds and heavy rainfall. The highest sustained wind was 162 km/h (101 mph) at Nomozaki, Nagasaki,[21] and gusts nearby peaked at 218 km/h (135 mph). Misawa Air Base along northern Honshu reported winds of at least 93 km/h (58 mph) for five hours, with a peak gust of 152 km/h (94 mph). This was the highest wind report at the station since records began in 1946.[2] The strongest wind gusts occurred concurrently with a sudden drop in atmospheric pressure, primarily from Kyushu and extending east-northeastward into the Chūgoku region of Honshu.[27] Mireille produced record wind gusts at 26 locations and record sustained winds at 12 locations.[19] At landfall, Mireille produced winds of at least 54 km/h (34 mph) across a diameter of 600 km (370 mi).[7] About two-thirds of the wind stations reported the strongest winds from the west after Mireille passed the area. Winds were lightest in eastern Honshu,[8] Mireille also dropped heavy rainfall, mostly on Shikoku, peaking at 406 mm (16.0 in) at Kito, Tokushima. In nearby Kōchi Prefecture, the heaviest hourly rainfall total was 72 mm (2.8 in), the highest in the nation for the storm.[21] The rains caused at least 13 landslides and flooded rivers in four locations.[15] However, effects from rainfall were limited due to the storm's fast forward motion.[7] Mireille also struck around the time of high tide, causing extensive storm surge along the coast.[28]

Mireille first passed near Miyako-jima, dropping 273 mm (10.7 in) of rainfall there.[21] Wind gusts on the island reached 176 km/h (109 mph), which caused some crop damage to sugar cane and vegetables. All flights were canceled as Mireille passed the island.[29] Later, the typhoon bypassed Okinawa to the west. The island experienced winds of at least 93 km/h (58 mph) for 27 hours, with gusts of 152 km/h (94 mph) at Kadena Air Base.[2] The capital city, Naha, reported gusts of 180 km/h (110 mph), while the highest gust in the region was 189 km/h (117 mph) on Kume Island.[30] Mireille produced heavy rainfall on Okinawa, totaling 258 mm (10.2 in), which allowed water restrictions there to be lifted for the rest of the year.[2] The precipitation fell in a short amount of time; 11 mm (0.43 in) dropped in just 10 minutes, and 34 mm (1.3 in) dropped in an hour, both at Naha. Waves reached 13.7 m (45 ft) along the coast of Okinawa. On Kume Island, the combination of high waves and tides produced damaging storm surge. The storm flooded 74 houses and damaged another 37. Mireille damaged roads in two locations, while winds damaged 157 power lines,[30] which cut communications to 3,123 people.[31] The storm also left heavy damage to the agriculture and forest industries.[30] In the region, Mireille caused 44 flights to be canceled. Two people were injured on Okinawa, and overall damage in the prefecture totaled ¥1.5 billion (US$11.4 million).[nb 4][30]

In Kyushu, the heavy rainfall caused flooding and landslides,[33] which buried several houses in Miyazaki Prefecture and forced 75 people to evacuate.[34] The high wind knocked over many cypress or cedar trees, totaling 22,529 hectares (55,670 acres) and accounting for ¥64 billion (US$530 million) in damage in Ōita Prefecture alone.[35][nb 4] Damage was heaviest near Nagasaki, where 16 people were killed,[12] including five after a warehouse collapsed during the storm.[36] A construction worker in nearby Isahaya was killed when the winds struck him with a prebuilt hut,[37] and airborne debris killed five people in Kumamoto Prefecture and seven in Fukuoka Prefecture.[13][38] Throughout Kyushu, about 2 million people lost power.[12] High winds and waves in Kagoshima Prefecture overturned several cars, killing one person in Ōshima.[39] Throughout Kyushu, about 2 million people lost power.[12] On nearby Shikoku island, high winds and rains caused ¥4.7 billion (US$35.7 million) in damage in Tokushima,[nb 4] mostly related to fisheries, crops, and houses.[40] A record storm surge, in conjunction with high winds, damaged a school in Sakaide,[41] as well as a floating pier and coastal road in nearby Ehime Prefecture. Rough surf swept away a woman in Matsuyama.[42]

The storm track brought Mireille west of the most populated island of Honshu, limiting damage there compared to Kyushu.[12] At Misawa Air Base, the strong winds knocked over trees and blew off the roofs of several warehouses, and also knocked off storage sheds off their foundation. Ahead of the storm, advance warning allowed the American military to shelter aircraft and warn the population. Damage was estimated between $500,000–$1.5 million.[2] Two of Mazda's loading docks in Hiroshima were completely destroyed, affecting American inventories of 1992 Mazda 929's until the end of November 1991.[43] Also in the city, 1.1 million residents, or 80% of households, lost power due to winds and storm surge.[28] In Yamaguchi Prefecture, the Takeda Pharmaceutical Company was flooded with 0.6 m (2.0 ft) of waters, forcing workers to move to another plant in the United States.[44] The strong winds and waves damaged the Itsukushima Shrine near Hiroshima and Kenroku-en northwest of Tokyo.[45] In Okayama Prefecture, salt spray damaged railways and shut down lines for three days.[46] High winds in Naka-ku collapsed scaffolding from a parking garage, and another damaged scaffolding nearby forced a road to shut down.[47] There were extensive crop losses in northern Honshu.[7] In Toyama Prefecture, the winds destroyed 192 greenhouses and exasperated a fire that caused further crop damage.[48]

Striking Hokkaido with much of its former intensity, Mireille produced strong winds across the island. Hakodate Airport reported a peak gust of 124 km/h (77 mph),[17] and the highest sustained wind was 79 km/h (49 mph) in Urakawa.[49] Along the coast, waves reached 7.7 m (25 ft) high at Matsumae,[17] killing one person in Kushiro who was mooring his boat.[50] Light rains occurred on the island, reaching 75 mm (3.0 in) in Hidaka.[49] In Hakodate, the storm damaged five buildings, and about 3,000 houses lost power.[17] There was scattered roof damage across Hokkaido, and flying glass injured one person.[51]