Asahi: 'Super-typhoons' forecast for second half of century
The effects of global warming will spawn "super-typhoons" packing winds of up to 288 kph in the second half of this century, causing unprecedented damage to Japan's coastlines, researchers warned. "If a super-typhoon lands on Japan, the high tides could bring about more serious damage than that in the Isewan Typhoon," said Kazuhisa Tsuboki, associate professor of meteorology at Nagoya University and a member of the research team. The researchers from Nagoya University, the Japan Meteorological Agency's Meteorological Research Institute and other organizations said the super-typhoons will also be stronger than Hurricane Katrina..."Coastal structures will need reinforcement in 40 to 50 years. It is time to check dangerous places based on new environmental conditions, such as a rise in the sea surface," said Nobuo Mimura, professor of coastal engineering at Ibaraki University, who headed an Environment Ministry team on global warming forecasts...According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in 2005, only 65 percent of the 13,792 kilometers of coastal embankments in Japan are high enough to handle tides caused by storms the size of the Isewan Typhoon...more...
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