RSOE EDIS: Japan - Extreme Weather - 2010.02.25

RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service Budapest, Hungary RSOE EDIS ALERTMAIL

2010-02-25 17:20:39 - Extreme Weather - Japan EDIS CODE: ST-20100225-25074-JPN Date & Time: 2010-02-25 17:20:39 [UTC] Area: Japan, Capital City, , Tokyo Damage level: Moderate (Level 2) Not confirmed information! Description: Dense fog over Tokyo Bay on Thursday morning forced airlines to cancel domestic flights to and from Haneda Airport or reroute them to other destinations, causing inconvenience to more than 28,000 travelers, it's been learned. The dense fog also made it impossible for airplanes to arrive at and depart from Haneda Airport for about three hours from around 7 a.m. As of 1 p.m., 115 flights were canceled and 30 were rerouted or returned to the airports they left from. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's Tokyo Regional Civil Aviation Bureau, it is extremely rare that Haneda Airport is greatly affected by dense fog. The fog also caused a ship collision in Tokyo Bay, limiting the entrance of other ships to the bay. Japan Airlines officials said it canceled 56 flights and made 15 flights return to their departure airports, affecting some 12,000 travelers. All Nippon Airways also announced the cancellation of 59 flights and the rerouting of 15 flights, affecting 16,800 travelers. At around 7:05 a.m., the 149-ton minitanker Hoken Maru and the 499-ton gravel carrying ship No. 5 Juntoku Maru reportedly collided with each other at sea around 2.3 kilometers east off Haneda Airport. There were no reports of injuries or of oil spills, according to the Japan Coast Guard. The Tokyo Wan Traffic Advisory Service Center urged ships weighing more than 10,000 tons not to enter the bay, and four Tokyowan ferries and five Tokai Kisen ferries were canceled. The Japan Meteorological Agency, which issued a dense fog advisory for the Tokyo metropolitan area, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures, said the dense fog was caused by moist air that flowed into Tokyo Bay. The fog was first observed at around 6:55 a.m., according to the Tokyo Aviation Weather Service Center at Haneda Airport. Posted:2010-02-25 17:20:39 [UTC] Please DO NOT reply to this message: replies may be treated as errors and result in your subscription being deleted. If you have trouble or other queries, send email to havaria@rsoe.hu RSOE EDIS is operated by the National Association of Radio-Distress Signalling and Infocommunications (RSOE), Budapest, Hungary. Because of the complexity of this system and its dependence on other systems, we cannot be responsible for delays or failures in forwarding or transmission. You're receiving this AlertMail because you subscribed for the service. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. Contact: havaria@rsoe.hu