Japan has issued evacuation orders for nearly a million people in the path of Typhoon Shanshan, as the powerful storm brought torrential rains, strong winds and landslides in which one person has been killed.
Factories have been shuttered and hundreds of flights cancelled as the typhoon barrelled towards the main southwestern island of Kyushu with gusts of up to 70 metres per second (157 mph).
Emergency warnings have been issued across much of the country as authorities say the typhoon could bring flooding, landslides and wind strong enough to knock down some houses.
One person died after a house with five people inside was buried in a landslide in the central city of Gamagori.
“Maximum caution is required given that forecasts are for strong winds, high waves and high tides that have not been seen thus far,” Satoshi Sugimoto, the agency’s chief forecaster, told reporters.
After striking Kyushu over the next few days the storm is expected to approach central and eastern regions, including the capital Tokyo, around the weekend, the agency said – but the typhoon’s path is proving difficult to predict.
Key Points
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One person killed as landslide buries house with five people inside
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Nearly a million people ordered to evacuate their homes
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Typhoon Shanshan ‘could bring unprecedented 600mm of rain in just 24 hours’
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Mapped: Where have evacuation orders been issued?
Typhoon Shanshan appears to make landfall in southern Kyushu
Wednesday 28 August 2024 23:41 , Andy Gregory
Typhoon Shanshan appeared to make landfall near Makurazaki on the southern island of Kyushu on Thursday morning local time.
Wind gusts reached speeds of 85mph while some parts of southern Kyushu had received over 380mm of rain by Thursday morning, despite the typoon having weakened from the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane on Tuesday to a Category 2 storm, the Washington Post reported.
Forecasting path of Typhoon Shanshan proving a rare challenge for meteorologists
Wednesday 28 August 2024 21:34 , Andy Gregory
Meteorologists are struggling to chart the expected path of Typhoon Shanshan, which has been moving particularly slowly and whose route is dependent on a number of other weather systems at play in the region.
James Reynolds, who chases and documents tropical storms, told the Japan Times that he first drove to Osaka earlier this week to prepare for a then-forecast landfall in the Shikoku region. But after two days, he travelled to Tokyo and flew instead to Kagoshima Prefecture on Wednesday morning.
“Shanshan has been one of the bigger outliers among all the storms I’ve tracked in terms of the continued changes in forecast and how the computer weather models are handling it,” Mr Reynolds told the outlet.
Thousands watch livestream of famous palm tree being battered by Typhoon Shanshan
Wednesday 28 August 2024 20:59 , Andy Gregory
Thousands of people are watching a livestream of a famous palm tree in Kagoshima, nicknamed “Yasshi”, as it is buffeted by Typhoon Shanshan.
“Yasshi is located next to a resort hotel and became famous for surviving major typhoons,” Dr Jeffrey J Hall, a lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies, said on X, adding: “Hang in there, Yasshi! You can survive this!”
While the livestream has currently lost its connection, thousands still appear to be watching it in the hopes of monitoring the palm tree’s fate.
The hotel previously made a towel commemorating Yasshi’s survival over typhoons in the past two years, according to Dr Hall.
Yasshi is located next to a resort hotel and became famous for surviving major typhoons. Here is a photo of a towel the hotel made commemorating Yasshi’s brave victory over typhoons that hit the area in 2022 and 2023.https://t.co/E5Qy8II5jY
— Jeffrey J. Hall 🇯🇵🇺🇸 (@mrjeffu) August 28, 2024
Power cuts experienced in Kyushu
Wednesday 28 August 2024 20:30 , Andy Gregory
More than 76,000 buildings were without power in Kyushu, the Japan Times reported earlier, citing Kyushu Electric.
Around 66,000 of those outages were reported in the Kagoshima Prefecture, while some 9,000 were in Miyazaki Prefecture.
Japan urges people to heed evacuation warnings
Wednesday 28 August 2024 20:01 , Stuti Mishra
Japan’s Meteorological Agency has warned that the risk of disaster could increase suddenly as the storm progresses.
Officials urged residents, especially older adults, to take shelter immediately if they feel unsafe.
“To protect your life and the lives of your loved ones, please flee to evacuation areas specified by local authorities and secure your safety,” said Satoshi Sugimoto, an official at the weather agency, speaking at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Bullet trains and postal services suspended in Kyushu
Wednesday 28 August 2024 19:32 , Andy Gregory
Japan Railway companies said most bullet trains and local train services were operating normally on Wednesday, but many on the island of Kyushu would be suspended on Thursday.
Similar steps may be taken on the main island of Honshu throughout Sunday.
Postal and delivery services have been also suspended in the Kyushu region, and supermarkets and other stores announced plans to close early.
Aerial view shows impact of landslide hundreds of miles east of Kyushu
Wednesday 28 August 2024 19:03 , Andy Gregory
An aerial view shows the search and rescue operation at a landslide site caused by a heavy rain due to the approach of Typhoon Shanshan in Gamagori, in Japan’s central Aichi Prefecture, hundreds of miles northeast of where the storm’s heaviest winds are currently battering Kyushu.
Japan cancels annual earthquake drills as it braces for Typhoon Shanshan
Wednesday 28 August 2024 18:46 , Andy Gregory
The Japanese government has cancelled its annual earthquake drills planned for Sunday to free up disaster response resources to deal with Typhoon Shanshan, the Associated Press reports.
One person killed as landslide buries house with five people inside
Wednesday 28 August 2024 18:28 , Andy Gregory
The warm, humid air around the typhoon and a separate high-pressure system has caused heavy rain in the central Japanese city of Gamagori, where a landslide buried a house with five people inside.
Four of them were rescued but one person later died, while workers were searching for the fifth person, according to the city’s disaster management department.
On the southern island of Amami, where the typhoon passed, one person was knocked down by a wind gust while riding a motorcycle, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.
Satellite imagery shows Typhoon Shanshan as it impacts southern Japan
Wednesday 28 August 2024 18:21 , Andy Gregory
Satellite imagery shared by Colorado State University’s Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) has this view of Typhoon Shanshan as it impacts southern Japan.
Japan forecasters issue highest warning for storms in parts of Kagoshima
Wednesday 28 August 2024 17:50 , Andy Gregory
Japan’s Meteorological Agency has issued its highest “special warning” for violent storms, waves and high tides in parts of the Kagoshima Prefecture.
Such warnings are issued where typhoons are due to hit with a strength experienced in that region of Japan only once every few decades, according to the agency.
The warnings indicate the “possibility that a major disaster prompted by (the typhoon) is extremely high,” the agency’s chief forecaster Satoshi Sugimoto was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse.
In neighbouring Miyazaki Prefecture, footage broadcast by 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, according to AFP, adding: “I was surprised. It was completely beyond our imagination.”
Mapped: Where have evacuation orders been issued?
Wednesday 28 August 2024 17:42 , Andy Gregory
Hundreds of thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate their homes as Typhoon Shanshan approaches.
In Kagoshima Prefecture, emergency warnings were issued for storms and high waves – including the most severe level issued once every few decades for hundreds of homes on the island village of Mishima, south of Kyushu.
Evacuation orders were also issued in 27 cities in the Kagoshima Prefecture and parts of Miyazaki Prefecture, including the entire city of Miyazaki, which is home to more than 400,000 people, according to the Japan Times.
Despite being further from the storm and hundreds of miles northeast, evacuation orders were also issued in parts of the Aichi and Shizuoka prefectures, where heavy rain has brought fears of landslides, with some families trapped in Aichi on Wednesday.
Path of typhoon proving difficult to predict
Wednesday 28 August 2024 17:05 , Andy Gregory
Meteorologists are finding the path of Typhoon Shanshan highly unpredictable, with its slow-moving trajectory proving difficult to forecast and raising the prospects that parts of Kyusu could be hit for longer than expected, reports the Japan Times.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency stressed the typhoon’s slow pace at an earlier press conference, but said that southern Kyushu and the Amami Islands will experience extended periods of strong winds until Friday.
The storm is then expected to move to northern Kyushu, and then to the regions of Shikoku, Chugoku, and Kinki, which includes Osaka Prefecture, the outlet reported.
But the storm’s exact path after moving over Kyushu is murky — it appears likely to move towards Honshu, but could also veer into the Sea of Japan or track to the south in the Pacific, according to the Japan Times.
Disasters minister warns of ‘unprecedented’ winds, rains and storm surges
Wednesday 28 August 2024 16:32 , Andy Gregory
Weather and government officials are concerned about extensive damage across the nation as the typhoon slowly sweeps up the Japanese archipelago over the next few days, threatening floods and landslides and paralyzing transportation, businesses and other daily activity.
Disaster management minister Yoshifumi Matsumura, at a taskforce meeting on Wednesday, said the typhoon could cause “unprecedented” levels of violent winds, high waves, storm surges and heavy rain.
He urged residents in Shanshan’s predicted path to take precautionary measures early, such as by checking their nearest shelters, to save their own lives. Matsumura urged residents, especially older adults, not to hesitate and take shelter whenever there is any safety concern.
Hundreds of flights cancelled
Wednesday 28 August 2024 16:08 , Andy Gregory
Airline group ANA Holdings said it would cancel more than 210 domestic flights in total between Wednesday and Friday slated to leave or arrive in southwestern Japan, affecting about 18,400 passengers.
Japan Airlines said it would cancel 402 domestic flights over the same three-day period. A total of 10 international flights operated by both airlines will also be suspended.
Evacuation orders issued for nearly a million people
Wednesday 28 August 2024 15:53 , Andy Gregory
Nearly a million people have been ordered to evacuate their homes as Typhoon Shanshan approaches.
According to the New York Times, some 990,000 people have been impacted by evacuation orders across southern, western and central Japan on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The evacuation orders have been issued in Kagoshima prefecture in southern Kyushu, and central Japan’s Aichi and Shizuoka prefectures.
Car manufacturers close factories as Japan braces for Typhoon Shanshan
Wednesday 28 August 2024 15:49 , Andy Gregory
Numerous companies are halting operations at their factories as they brace for Typhoon Shanshan.
Toyota, which is headquartered in Aichi Prefecture, will suspend operations at all 14 of its plants in Japan from Wednesday evening through Thursday morning, it said.
Nissan said it would suspend operations at its Kyushu plant on Thursday and Friday morning, while Honda will also temporarily close its factory in Kumamoto in southwestern Kyushu.
Also, Mazda Motor plans to suspend operations at its Hiroshima and Hofu plants, both in western Japan, from Thursday evening through Friday, the firm said.
Two suspected residents of house that collapsed in landslide ‘unaccounted for’
Wednesday 28 August 2024 15:47 , Andy Gregory
In Aichi Prefecture, one of the areas subject to evacuation orders, two people believed to be residents of a house that collapsed in a landslide during heavy rains were unaccounted for, Reuters reported.
Three residents of the house had been pulled out, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Forecasters warn typhoon could bring unprecedented 600mm of rain in just 24 hours
Wednesday 28 August 2024 15:37 , Andy Gregory
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has issued emergency warnings for storms and high waves in Kagoshima Prefecture, excluding the Amami region, as the typhoon threatens flooding and landslides.
The agency has issued an unprecedented rain forecast of up to 23.6in (600mm) over the next 24 hours.
Japan on high alert as Typhoon Shanshan approaches
Wednesday 28 August 2024 15:36 , Andy Gregory
Japan is on high alert as powerful Typhoon Shanshan edges closer, with high waves and wind prompting flight cancellations, train suspensions, and factory shutdowns.
The storm is expected to hit southern Kyushu on Thursday, with winds reaching up to 155mph (250kph) at its centre, strong enough to topple houses.
On Wednesday, the storm was 70km south-southwest of Yakushima Island, moving slowly northward off the country’s southwest coast, bringing extreme winds and heavy rain.
My colleague Stuti Mishra has more in this report:
Flights cancelled and factories closed as Typhoon Shanshan approaches Japan
Wednesday 28 August 2024 15:34 , Andy Gregory
We’ll be using this blog to bring you the latest updates on Typhoon Shanshan as it passes across Japan, where nearly a million residents have now been ordered to evacuate.
