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Tokyo braces for Tropical storm Ampil as homes evacuated, flights cancelled

Japan grounded hundreds of flights and encouraged nearly 10,000 households to evacuate in some locations near Tokyo on Friday, as a strong tropical storm triggered power blackouts in the middle of a significant summer vacation week.

Tropical cyclone Ampil, categorised as very strong by the Japan Meteorological Firm (JMA), was positioned off the Pacific coast of Japan's main island at 8:50 a.m. (2350 GMT Thursday). The firm has 2 higher classifications - extremely strong and violent.

The hurricane is anticipated to head towards the eastern area of Kanto, that includes the capital, on Friday afternoon.

Ampil has wind speeds of 45 metres per 2nd with optimum gust of 60 metres per second (216 kph/134 mph), according to the JMA.

The Kanto area is expected to experience intense winds that might trigger injuries from flying debris and even reverse trucks in motion, the JMA cautioned on its site.

Mobara City in Chiba Prefecture put an evacuation order for about 18,500 residents, while dozens of other cities opened unique evacuation centres and encouraged voluntary evacuation.

More than 2,000 households in the Kanto area were hit by blackouts in the early morning before power was brought back in some areas, the Tokyo Electric Power stated.

ANA Holdings stated it will cancel 281 domestic flights and 54 global flights slated to leave or get here on Friday, impacting almost 70,000 travelers.

Japan Airlines prepares to cancel 281 domestic and 38 global flights, impacting about 50,000 passengers.

All the high speed Shinkansen bullet train services between Tokyo and Japan's commercial heartland of Nagoya are also cancelled.

(source: Reuters)