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Thousands of people flocked to shelters in southwestern Japan on Sunday as Super Typhoon Nanmadol hit, prompting authorities to recommend the evacuation of three million people. This “very dangerous” typhoon is expected to make landfall on the island of Kyushu in the south of the country on Sunday night, before turning northeast and sweeping Japan’s main island of Honshu until morning. on Wednesday.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued a “special notice” for the department of Kagoshima, in the south of the large island of Kyushu, to alert the inhabitants of the high risk due to bad weather.
On Sunday morning, September 18, 25,680 households in Kagoshima and the neighboring Miyazaki department were without power.
The activity of regional and high-speed trains, half a thousand flights and maritime transport in the region were also suspended, public services indicated.
The JMA warned that the region may face “unprecedented” danger from violent winds, waves and torrential rains. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center The United States Navy has also raised an alert and is closely monitoring its trajectory.
Typhoon Nanmadol, a very dangerous super typhoon
“The utmost caution is called for,” Ryuta Kurora, head of the agency’s forecasting unit, said on Saturday. “It’s a very dangerous typhoon,” he noted.
“The wind will be so violent that some houses may sink,” added Kurora, also warning of floods and landslides.
So far, 2.9 million people have been advised to evacuate, according to the government’s fire and disaster management agency.
Officials from the Kagoshima department reported that more than 8,500 people had already taken shelter in shelters on Sunday morning.
“Stay away from dangerous places and evacuate if you feel any danger,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida tweeted after calling a government meeting.
“It will be dangerous to evacuate at night. Stay safe while it is still day,” he added.
Stay away from the windows
Public broadcaster NHK reported that more than four million people on the island of Kyushu had received urgent evacuation recommendations, and officials in Kagoshima and Miyazaki said that more than 15,000 people were in local shelters on Sunday afternoon.
“The wind will be so strong that some houses could collapse,” Kurora also told reporters, also warning of flooding and landslides.
“Please go to solid buildings before the strong winds start blowing and don’t go near the windows, even inside solid buildings,” he told a late-night news conference.
On the ground, a Kagoshima official told AFP there were no injuries or major damage yet, but the situation was deteriorating.
“The rain and the wind are getting stronger. The rain is so strong that we can’t see beyond it. Everything looks white,” he said.
At 1:00 p.m. (04:00 GMT), the typhoon was over the small Japanese island of Yakushima and the wind was blowing 234 km.
It is expected to make landfall in Kyushu, further north, on Sunday night before turning northeast and sweeping Japan’s main island of Honshu through Wednesday morning.
Typhoon season culminates between August and September in Japan, with heavy rains likely to cause flooding and landslides.
In 2019, Typhoon Hagibis caused more than 100 deaths in the country, which was hosting the Rugby World Cup at the time.
(with the AFP)
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