Japan prepares for the arrival of super typhoon Nanmadol classified as “very dangerous”

First modification: 09/17/2022 – 15:11

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) urged residents to evacuate parts of the southern island of Kyushu on Saturday, before a powerful large-scale typhoon makes landfall on Sunday and brings up to half a meter of rain.

Nanmadol, classified as a “super typhoon” by the US Navy’s Tropical Cyclone Forecast Center (Joint Typhoon Warning Center), could be the most destructive tropical storm to hit Japan in decades.

Typhoon Nanmadol – number 14 of the season – was this Saturday afternoon near the island of Minami-Daito, south of Japan, and was heading northwest at a speed of 20 km / h. In the center of the storm, the winds were 198 km / h, with gusts of up to 270 kilometers per hour, according to the Japanese Jeteorological Agency (JMA).

The typhoon is expected to make landfall in Kyushu in Kagoshima province on Sunday and continue north from there.

“There is a risk of unprecedented storms, high waves, storm surges and heavy rainfall,” Ryuta Kurora, head of the agency’s weather forecasting unit, told reporters.

“Ultimate caution is requested,” he added, asking residents to evacuate the area as soon as possible.

“This typhoon is very dangerous,” he said.

The meteorological agency planned to activate the highest alert level for Kagoshima province later in the day, Kurora said.

“The wind will be so fierce that some houses could collapse,” he said, warning that flooding and landslides could also occur.

Japan, currently in its typhoon season, is hit by about 20 such storms each year, but scientists say climate change is increasing the severity of these phenomena and causing extreme events such as heat waves, droughts and floods. more and more frequent and intense.

(with the AFP)