Airlines and railways have cancelled some services for the coming days as the typhoon, rated “extremely strong”, approaches the main southwestern island of Kyushu with gusts of up to 70 metres per second (252 kilometres per hour/157 mph).
The weather agency issued an emergency warning, saying the typhoon could bring flooding, landslides and winds strong enough to destroy some homes.
“Ultimate caution is required as strong winds, high waves and high tides are forecast, which we have not seen so far,” Satoshi Sugimoto, the agency’s chief meteorologist, told a news conference.
The agency said the storm, which hit Kyushu over the next few days, is expected to approach central and eastern regions, including the capital Tokyo, over the weekend.
Authorities have issued evacuation orders for more than 800,000 residents of Kagoshima Prefecture in southern Kyushu and Aichi and Shizuoka Prefectures in central Japan.
Item 1 of 3 High waves are seen along the beach as Typhoon Shanshan approaches southwestern Japan in Makurazaki, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, August 28, 2024, in this photo by Kyodo News. Copyright Kyodo/via Reuters
In Aichi, where Toyota is headquartered, two people believed to be residents of a house that collapsed in a landslide during heavy rains have not been found. Three residents of the house have been pulled out, according to public broadcaster NHK.
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Written by Kaori Kaneko, Chang-Ran Kim, Maki Shiraki, Jun Jiede, and Kiyoshi Takenaka; Edited by Lincoln Feast, Hugh Lawson, and Mark Potter
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