Shropshire Star

'Our hotel was shaking': Japan typhoon has Shropshire rugby fans locked down

A group of friends from Newport, visiting Japan for the Rugby World Cup, have told how they were "locked down" in their hotel as Typhoon Hagibis and an earthquake hit.

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A flooded area in Koriyama, Fukushima

Kevin Trumper and three of his pals travelled halfway across the globe to Yokohama to watch Japan face Scotland in the Rugby World Cup – a game on the verge of being cancelled.

"Our hotel was shaking and as you can imagine there was an unbelievable amount of wind and rain," he said.

"We were locked down in our rooms basically all day and we really felt it when the earthquake came in at about 5.2 magnitudes."

The group, all in their 50s, have been in Japan for two weeks and are set to fly home on Wednesday.

Kevin added: "It was interesting watching it all unfold and we were lucky, people have died and other parts of the country have been hit much worse."

He added: "We woke up the following morning, the day of the Scotland game, and everything was weirdly perfect, blue skies and nice weather.

"The trip and rugby has been absolutely fantastic. The Japanese are used to these situations and are fabulous people.

"People of all nationalities have been getting along and the place has been bouncing."