Typhoon Tapah disrupts hundreds of flights in Japan, South Korea

Hundreds of domestic flights in Japan were cancelled because of Typhoon Tapah, and the storm is expected to cause similar flight disruptions when it makes landfall later Sunday (Sept 22) in South Korea.

Airlines operating in Japan called off around 412 domestic flights as of 1pm on Sunday due to the typhoon, the national broadcaster NHK reported. And 359 South Korean domestic flights had been cancelled as of noon, Seoul time, Yonhap reported, citing the Korea Airports Corporation.

The storm disruptions in Japan led ANA Holdings to cancel 151 flights, while Japan Airlines called off 118, the two airline operators said around noon Tokyo time.

In Japan, most of the flight cancellations centred on the southwestern island of Kyushu. The typhoon battered Japan's southern Okinawa islands on Saturday, with heavy rain and strong winds, injuring 19 people, according to the Sankei newspaper.

Tapah is expected to move up the strait between South Korea and Japan and make landfall in South Korea on Sunday, packing wind gusts of up to 126km per hour, according to Korea's national weather agency.