Japan storm: Millions told to evacuate as Typhoon Nanmadol makes landfall

Typhoon Nanmadol has brought winds of at least 180 km/h (112mph) and some areas could see 500mm (20 inches) of rainfall over Sunday and Monday. At least four million people have been told to evacuate their homes. 

 

Extensive flooding and landslides are expected, while bullet train services, ferries, and hundreds of flights have been cancelled. 

 

The typhoon made landfall near the city of Kagoshima, on the southern tip of Kyushu, on Sunday morning. 

 

Kyushu is the southernmost of the four islands that make up the main body of Japan and has a population of more than 13 million people. 

 

Authorities had issued a "special alert" for the island, the first ever put in place outside the Okinawa Prefecture, which consists of the smaller, remote Japanese islands in the East China Sea, the Japan TImes reports.

 

Japan's Meteorological Agency said Nanmadol would bring torrential rain, storm surges along the coast, and winds so powerful there was a risk that homes could collapse. 

 

An official in the city of Izumi said conditions on Sunday afternoon were deteriorating rapidly.

 

"The wind has become extremely strong. Rain is falling hard too," he told AFP. "It's a total white-out outside. Visibility is almost zero."

 

The typhoon is now moving north across Kyushu, dropping huge amounts of rain on the mountainous centre of the island. 

 

It is expected to travel up through central Japan towards Tokyo over the coming days and to maintain much of its strength as it moves. 

 

The biggest threat to life and property is from the rain, which is already causing rivers to rise and could unleash land and mudslides. 

 

NHK, which compiles alerts issued by local authorities, said level four evacuation instructions – the second highest – were in place for people in Kagoshima, Kumamoto and Miyazaki in the southern Kyushu region.

 

Japan’s weather agency had issued its highest alert for the Kagoshima region. It is the first typhoon-linked special warning issued outside the Okinawa region since the current system began in 2013.

 

Typhoon Nanmadol was carrying gusts of up to 270km/h (168mph) on Saturday near the remote Minami Daito island, 400km (250 miles) east of Okinawa island, the weather agency said.

“There are risks of unprecedented storms, high waves, storm surges, and record rainfall,” said Ryuta Kurora, the head of the Japan Meteorological Agency’s forecast unit.

 

“Maximum caution is required,” he said, urging people to evacuate early. “It’s a very dangerous typhoon.”