The sudden typhoon warning not only left Tokyo's residents caught off guard but also threw the Tokyo Metropolitan Government into a state of chaos.
Although, as an island country, Japan experiences several strong typhoons making landfall every year, under normal circumstances, a typhoon forms in tropical regions and takes time to reach landfall. No matter how short the timeline, there is typically a period for preparation and response.
When the landfall area of a typhoon can be predicted in advance, the government can take preemptive action, such as evacuating people in the affected regions or preparing the local population with disaster-prevention measures.
But this suddenly appearing typhoon could almost be said to have materialized directly off the coast of Japan, headed straight for Tokyo, giving the Tokyo Metropolitan Government virtually no time to respond. According to forecasts from the meteorological department, it would make landfall within 24 hours.
