Typhoon Dujuan has turned Japan’s Pacific coastline into something out of a disaster movie, with videos showing huge, wind-whipped mountains of water detonating against seawalls and rocky shorelines.
According to Zoom Earth, Dujuan generated maximum significant wave heights of 9.4 meters — roughly 31 feet — as it moved away from eastern Japan on September 22. Earlier, the Japan Meteorological Agency had warned of seas reaching about 9 meters around the Izu Islands and 8 meters along parts of Kanto.
Those numbers help explain the footage: dark, disorganized peaks stacking on top of one another, spray blowing off their crests and whitewater exploding against the coast. Check out one ominous clip of waves pounding the coast, linked here, and below:
And those waves did real damage.
At Yokosuka Naval Base, high surf destroyed part of a seawall, scattering driftwood and debris across the waterfront. Yokosuka also received roughly 9.6 inches of rain as Dujuan passed.
Here’s another clip of wild waves, linked here, and below:
The rainfall elsewhere was even more staggering. Izu Oshima recorded 832 millimeters — nearly 33 inches — in 48 hours, an all-time local record. At least four people were confirmed dead and six remained missing Tuesday after landslides struck Kanagawa and Chiba prefectures. Approximately 45,000 households lost power.
Near its strongest point approaching Japan, Dujuan packed sustained winds around 89 mph, gusts near 123 mph, and a central pressure of approximately 960 hPa. JMA forecasting division director Takuya Hosomi warned residents in Level 4 areas that “a major disaster could occur at any time.”
Related: Watch: “Monster” Waves Explode Behind Japanese Torii Gate as Typhoon Dujuan Hits (Video)
Dujuan has since accelerated east-northeast into the Pacific and begun transitioning into an extratropical system. As of September 22, Zoom Earth listed winds around 110 km/h while 31-foot significant seas still churned offshore.
Japan is certainly no stranger to typhoons.
But even by Japanese standards, seeing 30-foot storm surf marching toward land is a chilling reminder of how quickly the ocean can become the scariest part of the storm.
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