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Meteorological Agency News

13 Mar 2024

Search Underway for Missing Indonesian Fishing Boat Crew

© Ingo Menhard / Adobe Stock

Rescue teams searched waters in central Indonesia on Wednesday for 24 fishermen missing since their boat sank at the weekend, with hopes kept alive by the discovery a day ago of 11 survivors who had been floating at sea for three days.The boat with 37 crew went down on Saturday near Selayar Island off South Sulawesi province, according to the search and rescue agency, with 11 survivors in life jackets spotted by fishermen only on Tuesday. Two other crew were found dead."We just received the report of the boat sinking from those who survived on Tuesday…

08 Jun 2020

Ore Carrier Recognized for Meteorological Contributions

Owari Maru  (Photo: NYK)

An NYK-operated ore carrier Owari Maru was awarded the Meteorological Agency's Director-General Award on June 1 for the contribution the ship has made to meteorological business development by observing marine weather conditions and transmitting observation results over an extended period of time.Every year, Japan’s minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT), together with the director-general of the Japan Meteorological Agency, commend vessels that have participated in observing and reporting marine weather conditions…

23 Jan 2018

Magnitude 7.9 Quake off Alaska Prompts Tsunami Warning

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake hit the Gulf of Alaska in the early hours of Tuesday, prompting warnings of a possible tsunami down the Canadian and U.S. west coast and as far away as Hawaii. Local radio on the Alaskan island of Kodiak, close to the epicenter, urged listeners to move away from coastal areas. "This is a tsunami warning. this is not a drill. Please get out to higher ground," said the announcer on KMXT public radio. "If you are on the flats, get up on one of the hills ... There were no immediate reports of damage or injury. The quake, initially measured at magnitude 8.2, hit around 250 km (160 miles) southeast of Chiniak, Alaska at a depth of 25 km at 0931 GMT, the U.S. Geological Survey said. "If you are located in this coastal area, move inland to higher ground.

13 Jul 2014

6.8 magnitude Quake in East Japan Tiggers a Minor Tsunami

An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 occurred on Saturday off the eastern coast of Japan, triggering a small tsunami with waves up to 20 inches, but no damage on the northeast coast of the country will be reported, local meteorological agency said. Northeastern Japan was devastated by a catastrophic tsunami in March 2011. No irregularities were reported at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was severely damaged by the disaster of 2011, which caused the worst nuclear accident in the world since the Chernobyl meltdown in Ukraine in 1986. The earthquake reached category 4 on the Japanese seismic scale of 1-7, which means that there is little chance that generated serious damage.

09 Jul 2014

Japan Typhoon Weakens, Heads to Main Islands

Torrential rains from a weakened but still dangerous typhoon battered Japan's Okinawa islands on Wednesday, leaving two dead and threatening widespread flooding as the storm headed for the nation's main islands. Typhoon Neoguri, a super typhoon as it bore down on Okinawa this week, had winds gusting up to 162 kph (100 mph) on Wednesday, but weather forecasters said the major concern now was rain, especially as parts of the westernmost main island of Kyushu have already been hit by heavy rain over the last week. Authorities warned of record rainfall in Okinawa as rivers in some areas overflowed. More than 200,000 residents were told to leave their homes, down from over 500,000 on Tuesday.

08 Jul 2014

One Dead as Typhoon Batters Okinawa

One man died, more than 500,000 people were urged to evacuate and hundreds of flights were cancelled in Japan as a strong typhoon brought torrential rain and high winds to its southwestern islands and could bring heavy rain to Tokyo later this week. Typhoon Neoguri weakened from its original status as a super typhoon but remained intense, with gusts of more than 250 km per hour (155 mph). It was powering through the Okinawa island chain where emergency rain and high-seas warnings were in effect. The storm was at its most powerful when passing Okinawa, some 1,600 km (1,000 miles) southwest of Tokyo on Tuesday, but the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) warned of heavy rains and potential flooding in Kyushu…

08 Jul 2014

Japan Shuts Down Nuclear Plants in Typhoon's Path

Hundreds of flights were cancelled in Japan and more than 500,000 people urged to evacuate as a powerful typhoon brought torrential rain and high winds to southwestern islands and was forecast to reach Tokyo later in the week. Typhoon Neoguri weakened from its original status as a super typhoon but remained intense, with gusts of more than 250 km per hour (155 mph). It was powering towards the Okinawa island chain where emergency rain and high-seas warnings were in effect. There are no nuclear plants on Okinawa but there are two on Kyushu, which lies in the area through which the typhoon is likely to pass after hitting Okinawa. There is another on Shikoku island, which borders Kyushu and could also be affected.

07 Jul 2014

Super Typhoon Headed for Japan, Emergency Warnings Issued

Japan's weather agency on Monday issued emergency warnings to urge people in the country's southern islands to take maximum precautions as a super typhoon described as a "once in decades storm" is set to rake the Okinawa island chain with heavy rain and powerful winds. Typhoon Neoguri was already gusting at more than 250 km an hour (150 mph) and may pick up still more power as it moves northwest, growing into an "extremely intense" storm by Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. But it was not expected to be as strong as Typhoon Haiyan, which killed thousands in the Philippines last year. The JMA issued emergency storm and high sea warnings for Japan's small southern island of Miyakojima, some 300 km (188 miles) southwest of Okinawa island, and for a smaller nearby islet.

09 Apr 2013

NYK Line Launches Tsunami Ship Alert System

Photo: NYK

Tsunami warnings issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency and other weather service providers will be sent to vessels via NYK's 'e-missions' system. The warnings are intended to allow affected vessels to determine the best course of action through contact with those on shore and use of the Tsunami-Response Guidelines NYK developed and released last year. When a tsunami warning is issued, a tsunami alert will be sent (in English) to NYK vessel operators and about 800 vessels that make use of NYK 'e-missions'.

14 Dec 2012

New Whaling Protest Vessel Ironically Japanese-Built

Sea Shepherd's Sam Simon: Photo credit Sea Shipherd

Los Angeles-based philanthropist & co-creator of TV’s 'The Simpsons', funds purchase of new Sea Sherpherd anti-whaling patrol ship 'Sam Simon'. Sea Shepherd's new Antarctic patrol ship, the Sam Simon, has been unveiled in the port of Hobart, Tasmania, docked at Macquarie Wharf 1. The vessel, retired from service by the Japanese Government in 2010, had since been laid up in Shimonoseki, Japan, alongside the very ships Sea Shepherd will confront this season. Originally built as Seifu Maru in 1993 by IHI shipyard in Tokyo…

21 Aug 2001

Two Die As Typhoon Pabuk Packs A Powerful Punch in Japan

Powerful Typhoon Pabuk, packing winds of up to 79 mph, ploughed into Japan on Tuesday, killing two people, snarling air, sea and rail traffic and forcing Universal Studios to close its theme park. The typhoon landed at around 7:00 p.m. in the western prefecture of Wakayama, becoming the first typhoon to hit Japan's main island of Honshu in two years, the Meteorological Agency said. Local officials issued evacuation recommendations for 7,000 Wakayama residents as the storm pounded the district. The agency warned that Pabuk - a Laotian word for a large, freshwater fish - could make a direct strike on central Japan, near Tokyo, early Wednesday and then pound its way north through Honshu. It was moving at about 20 kph (12.5 mph).