Japan's Typhoon Hagibis wrecked its fleet of bullet trains worth $300 million

Sahar Esfandiari

October 15, 2019 1:20 PM

Twitter/NHK

Flooding from Typhoon Hagibis has destroyed a fleet of bullet trains worth 32.8 billion ($300 million), according to The Japan Times .
The flooded bullet train yard was in Nagano, a city to the northwest of Tokyo.
The East Japan Railway Company said 10 trains with a total of 120 carriages were damaged, which accounts for a third of the total fleet, according to NHK .
Typhoon Hagibis is the most powerful storm to hit the country since 60 years, reportedly killing 35 people and causing widespread destruction to cities in Japan.
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Flooding in Japan from Typhoon Hagibis has destroyed a third of its fleet of futuristic bullet trains, which are worth around 32.8 billion ($300 million), according to The Japan Times .

The damage was caused as heavy rainfall sent water cascading into a train yard in Nagano, northwest of Tokyo. The area is home ten Shinkansen bullet train, according to The Associated Press.

Video from Japanese state broadcaster NHK showed seven trains at the yard partially submerged under water.

The East Japan Railway Company said that ten trains, with a total of 120 carriages, were damaged, according to NHK . The figure is around a third of the fleet.

The company said that the flood water would likely ruin components stored underneath the carriages, which control functions like braking, power control and air conditioning.

Typhoon Hagibis made landfall on Japan's main island of Hoshu late on Saturday.

It made landfall as a category 2 storm on Saturday before jumping to a category 5.

According to an earlier report by Business Insider the typhoon is the most powerful to hit the country in 60 years, reportedly killing 35 people and causing widespread devastation to homes and cities.

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