Typhoon Nanmadol swept across Japan's west coast on Monday, bringing strong winds and heavy rain, as authorities maintained evacuation advisories for millions of people amid the risk of flooding and landslides.

The powerful typhoon has weakened since making landfall on Sunday evening near the city of Kagoshima, south of the big island of Kyushu, but has uprooted trees, shattered windows and swollen rivers that threaten to overflow .

State broadcaster NHK said one person was killed and 50 injured as the storm passed through Kyushu, but authorities did not immediately confirm the death toll.

Officials from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) have warned that river levels are high in Miyazaki Prefecture, where some areas have received more rainfall in twenty-four hours than they normally receive for the whole day. month of September.

"We ask you to remain vigilant against (risks of) flooding and landslides," government official Yoshiyuki Toyoguchi told reporters.

However, given the intensity of the typhoon which hit the coast with gusts reaching 234 km/h, the damage seems relatively limited so far.

313,000 homes without electricity

The JMA had issued a "special warning" for Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures, which was scaled back Monday morning, but evacuation notices remained in effect for 9.6 million people.

In Japan, evacuation notices are recommendations, they are not mandatory, and authorities sometimes have trouble convincing residents to go to shelters before extreme weather conditions.

On the island of Kyushu, however, thousands of people have spent the night in shelters, while others have settled in more solid buildings.

As of Monday morning, nearly 313,000 homes in the Kyushu and Chugoku regions were without power, utilities said, as the storm slowly moved up Japan's west coast.

Hundreds of flights were canceled, NHK said, and train services in affected areas were also disrupted during the typhoon.

At 11 a.m. (0200 GMT), the typhoon was moving north/northeast near Kitakyushu, with peak gusts of around 162 km/h, according to the JMA.


It “continues to weaken” and “has been downgraded from strong and wide typhoons to wide typhoons,” Ryuta Kurora, head of the JMA forecast unit, told reporters.

The typhoon season peaks from August to September in Japan where it is marked by heavy rains that can cause sudden floods and deadly landslides.

World

Japan: Thousands seek shelter as typhoon approaches

Planet

Taiwan: A magnitude 7.2 earthquake recorded off the island

  • World

  • Japan

  • Typhoon

  • Natural disaster