Typhoon Shanshan, expected in Japan to be the most powerful of the year, made landfall on Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu on Thursday morning, causing the first damage.
“The center of Typhoon No. 10 made landfall near the city of Satsumasendai in Kagoshima Prefecture at around 8:00 a.m. (2300 GMT Wednesday), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.
According to operators, 254,610 homes were without electricity at the start of the day in the region due to the passage of Shanshan, accompanied by heavy rain and gusts of wind of up to 252 km/h.
Faced with this situation, the authorities had launched their highest measures on Wednesday “special alert” for strong winds, heavy rains and flood waves.
“Please exercise maximum vigilance against severe storms, waves and high tides in Kagoshima, as well as landslides, flooding in low-lying areas and overflowing rivers in southern Kyushu.”warned the JMA very early on Thursday.
Disaster risk
“Please also note that the risk of disasters due to heavy rain may rapidly increase in western Japan by Friday.”adds the JMA.
Two prefectures in southern Kyushu are expected to receive nearly half of their annual rainfall in 48 hours. In Kagoshima and Miyazaki, 500 mm of rain in the 24 hours through Thursday morning are expected, followed by another 600 mm in the 24 hours through Friday morning, according to the JMA.
Auto giant Toyota announced on Wednesday that it would suspend production at its 14 plants in Japan from Wednesday afternoon until Thursday evening.
Separately, three members of a family died after a landslide buried a house in Gamagori, a city in the central prefecture of Aichi, Kyodo news agency reported early Thursday, citing local government officials.
Among the dead were a couple in their 70s and their son in his 30s, while two women in their 40s were injured, the news agency said.
Japan Airlines cancelled 172 domestic flights and six international flights on Wednesday and Thursday. Rival ANA said it cancelled 219 domestic flights and four international flights between Wednesday and Friday.
The railway companies operating the high-speed Shinkansen lines have already announced that trains could also be cancelled depending on weather conditions this week across the archipelago.
The typhoon is expected to track across Japan from west to east throughout the rest of the week.
Typhoons in the region are forming closer to shore than before, intensifying more quickly and staying over land longer because of climate change, according to a study published last July.
From August 15 to 17, another typhoon, Ampil, caused the cancellation of many trains and flights in Japan but caused only minor injuries and damage as it moved up the Pacific coast off the Tokyo region.
