Farmland along a river is flooded by heavy rains caused by a typhoon in Yufu, Oita prefecture, western Japan, on August 29, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

A typhoon lashed southern Japan with torrential rain and strong winds on Thursday (August 29, 2024), causing at least three deaths as it started a crawl up the length of the archipelago and raised concerns of flooding, landslips and extensive damage.

“Typhoon Shanshan made landfall in the morning on the southern island of Kyushu and about 60 centimetres (nearly 2 ft) of rainfall had fallen in parts of Miyazaki prefecture,” the Japan Meteorological Agency said. “That 24-hour total was more than the August rainfall average and swollen rivers were threatening floods,” it said.

The typhoon ripped through downtown Miyazaki City, knocking down trees, throwing cars to the side in parking lots and shattering windows of some buildings. The prefectural disaster management task force said 40 buildings were damaged.

Footage on NHK public television showed the swollen river in a popular hot spring town of Yufu in Oita prefecture, just north of Miyazaki, with muddy water splashing against the bridge over it.

“The typhoon was forecast to bring strong winds, high waves and significant rainfall to most of the country, particularly the southern prefectures of Kyushu. Around midday, Shanshan was moving north at 15 kph (9 mph) and its winds had weakened to 126 kph (78 mph),” JMA said.

“More than a dozen people were injured in Miyazaki, many of them thrown to the ground. One each was also injured nearby Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures on their way to shelters,” the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.

“Nearly a quarter million households were without power across Kyushu, most of them in the Kagoshima prefecture,” the Kyushu Electric Power Co. said.

Ahead of the typhoon’s arrival, heavy rain caused a landslip that buried a house in the central city of Gamagori, killing three residents and injuring two others, according to the city’s disaster management department. “On the southern island of Amami, where the typhoon passed, one person was injured by being knocked down by a wind gust while riding a motorcycle,” the FDMA said.

Weather and government officials are concerned about extensive damage as the typhoon slowly sweeps up the Japanese archipelago over the next few days, threatening floods and landslips. The typhoon’s impact was yet to be felt in the Tokyo region, where business was as usual and heavy rain was predicted later this week.

Disaster Management Minister Yoshifumi Matsumura said the typhoon could cause “unprecedented” levels of violent winds, high waves, storm surges and heavy rain. At a task force meeting on Wednesday (August 28, 2024) he urged people, especially older adults, not to hesitate and to take shelter whenever there is any safety concern.

Hundreds of domestic flights connecting southwestern cities and islands were cancelled on Thursday, and bullet trains and some local train services were suspended. Similar steps were taken on Thursday in parts of the main island of Honshu that were experiencing heavy rain. Postal and delivery services have been also suspended in the Kyushu region, and supermarkets and other stores planned to close.

Tokyo:

Typhoon Shanshan slammed into Japan’s main southern island of Kyushu early Thursday, with authorities advising thousands of people to evacuate and issuing the highest warning level for wind and storm surges.

The weather office said that Japan’s most powerful typhoon this year made landfall at around 8:00 am (2300 GMT Wednesday) packing gusts of up to 252 kilometres (157 miles) per hour.

Kyushu’s utility operator said that 254,610 houses were already without power.

“Special warnings of violent storms, high waves and high tides are being issued to the Kagoshima region (of Kyuhsu),” the Japan Meteorological Office said.

“Please exercise maximum vigilance against violent storms, high waves and high tides in Kagoshima, as well as landslides, flooding in low-lying areas and overflowing rivers in southern Kyushu,” it said.

“Please also be advised that the risk of a disaster due to heavy rain can rapidly escalate in western Japan as Friday approaches.”

Heavy rain brought by Shanshan has been lashing large parts of Japan since Tuesday.

Three members of a family died after a landslide buried a house in Gamagori, a city in central Aichi prefecture, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported early Thursday, citing local government officials.

The deceased included a couple in their 70s as well as a son in his 30s, while two adult daughters in their 40s survived with injuries, Kyodo reported.

For southern Kyushu, the JMA predicted an enormous 1,100 millimetres (43 inches) of precipitation in the 48 hours to Friday morning.

Video on public broadcaster NHK TV showed roof tiles being blown off houses, broken windows and felled trees.

“Our carport roof was blown away in its entirety. I wasn’t at home when it happened, but my kids say they felt the shaking so strong they thought an earthquake happened,” a local resident in Miyazaki told NHK.

“I was surprised. It was completely beyond our imagination,” she said.

Auto giant Toyota has suspended production at all 14 of its factories in Japan.

Japan Airlines cancelled 172 domestic flights and six international flights scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, while ANA nixed 219 domestic flights and four international ones on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

The cancellations affected around 25,000 people.

Kyushu Railway said it would suspend some Shinkansen bullet train services between Kumamoto and Kagoshima Chuo from Wednesday night and warned of further possible disruption.

Trains between Tokyo and Fukuoka, the most populous city on Kyushu, may also be cancelled depending on weather conditions this week, other operators said.

Shanshan comes in the wake of Typhoon Ampil, which disrupted hundreds of flights and trains this month.

Despite dumping heavy rain, it caused only minor injuries and damage.

Ampil came days after Tropical Storm Maria brought record rains to northern areas.

Typhoons in the region have been forming closer to coastlines, intensifying more rapidly and lasting longer over land due to climate change, according to a study released last month.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Tokyo:

A barrier erected in Japan to block a popular view of Mount Fuji has been taken down — for now — after succeeding in discouraging unruly tourists, a town official said Tuesday.

Fujikawaguchiko put up the large screen in May after residents complained about streams of mostly foreign visitors causing problems while trying to snap photos of Japan’s famous volcano.

The town lowered the screen on August 15 ahead of a typhoon and has decided not to put it back up.

“We wanted to see what would happen,” the town official told AFP.

“There are still some people who come to the place. But we no longer find many people suddenly rushing out into the traffic to cross the road,” he said.

Pictures taken from the narrow pavement in front of a dentist’s office were popular online, with the snow-capped mountain rising photogenically into the sky from behind a convenience store.

The town’s struggle with unruly tourists made international headlines as record numbers of tourists headed to Japan over the summer, creating some opposition among locals.

The Fujikawaguchiko official said the town can put up the screen again if tourists return and cause more problems.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)