Typhoon Haishen unleashes rain, strong winds in south Japan
- Weather agency urged peoples to exercise ‘most serious caution’ for possible record rain, violent winds, high waves and surging tides
- As the storm passed over several remote islands earlier on Sunday, strong winds bent palm trees and sheets of rain lashed the area
Typhoon Haishen has weakened somewhat as it neared Japan’s mainland, and shifted further west out to sea, but it remained a “large” and “extremely strong” storm.
After lashing a string of exposed, remote southern islands, it neared Japan’s Kyushu region on Sunday evening, with authorities issues evacuation advisories for more than 7 million residents.
The weather agency urged peoples to exercise “most serious caution” for possible record rain, violent winds, high waves and surging tides.
“Record-level rainfall is expected. It may cause landslides or it could cause even large rivers to flood,” said Yoshihisa Nakamoto, director of the forecast division at the Japan Meteorological Agency, during a televised briefing.
He added that surging tides could cause widespread flooding in low-lying areas, particularly around river mouths.