Tropical Storm Brings Heavy Rain, High Winds to Tokyo

By Aaron Sheldrick

Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Tropical Storm Krovanh increased in strength as it approached Japan, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to Tokyo, forcing flight cancellations and halting shipments from oil refineries.

The center of Krovanh, the 12th storm of the western Pacific cyclone season, was 224 kilometers (139 miles) south of Tokyo at 8 a.m. local time today, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds increased to 111 kilometers per hour from 102 kph earlier today and Krovanh was moving north at 15 kph, the agency said. On that trajectory, Krovanh’s eye will cross the coast south of Tokyo after 3 p.m.

The weather agency issued warnings for heavy rain, high waves and stormy weather for Tokyo, neighboring Chiba prefecture, the location of Japan’s biggest international airport near Narita, and surrounding areas. Krovanh is expected to bring as much as 5 centimeters (2 inches) of rain per hour as it approaches Tokyo and Chiba.

All Nippon Airways Co., Japan’s largest domestic airline, canceled 14 flights to and from Tokyo and between islands to the south of the capital, affecting 1,100 people, it said in a faxed statement. Some train services were delayed in Tokyo and neighboring areas.

Nippon Oil Corp., the nation’s largest oil refiner, stopped shipments from its Negishi refinery in Yokohama south of Tokyo and Cosmo Oil Co. halted those from its refinery in Chiba.

Japan is regularly buffeted by typhoons and tropical storms during the western Pacific cyclone season.

Twenty-three people died earlier this month in flooding and storms attributed to Tropical Storm Etau, according to Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

Krovanh is the name of a tree in Cambodia, according to the Web site of the Hong Kong Observatory, which names the storms.

To contact the reporter on this story: Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo at asheldrick@bloomberg.net.