Typhoon Nanmadol reaches Japan, with millions urged to seek shelter
- The Japan Meteorological Agency warns of ‘unprecedented’ danger and says ‘maximum caution is required ... some houses might collapse’
- Thousands evacuate and around 200,000 homes without power on Sunday because of damage to power lines
Typhoon Nanmadol made landfall on Japan’s southwestern coast on Sunday evening, the country’s weather agency said, as authorities urged millions to seek shelter from the powerful storm’s rains and wind.
“The eye of Typhoon Nanmadol made landfall near Kagoshima city around 7.00pm (1000GMT) on Sunday,” the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said in a brief statement on its website.
The typhoon’s approach pounded the region with strong winds and heavy rain, causing blackouts, paralysing ground and air transport and prompting the evacuation of thousands of people.
Nanmadol was packing gusts of up to 234km (146 miles) per hour and had already dumped up to 50cm (20 inches) of rain in less than 24 hours on parts of Kyushu, the country’s main southern island, where Kagoshima is located.
Nanmadol is forecast to turn east and reach Tokyo on Tuesday.
The agency issued a rare “special warning” for the Kagoshima area, an alert issued only when it forecasts conditions seen once in several decades.