- Meteorologists issued a special alert before the arrival of the meteor, described as an “unprecedented” storm, with maximum wind gusts of 250 kilometers per hour.
The southwest of Japan is preparing for the arrival of the powerful typhoon Nanmadol which, despite having weakened in recent hours, has forced the maximum alert to remain active due to strong winds and abundant rains.
At 12:45 local time (5:45 Central European Time) Nanmadol, the fourteenth typhoon of the current season in the Pacific, was over the island of Yakushima, about 70 kilometers south of Kagoshima prefecture, the southernmost in the Kyushu Island (southwest), second most populated island in the country.
Although in recent hours it has weakened, leading the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) to lower its category from “violent” to “very strong”, Nanmadol has maximum wind gusts of 250 kilometers per hour and the island of Yakushima is already recorded in the early hours of this Sunday gusts that exceeded 160 kilometers per hour.
The storm forced the JMA on Saturday to activate for the first time the maximum typhoon alert for one of the four main islands of the archipelago, an alert that is maintained due to winds, rainfall and waves that the JMA considers to be unprecedented in the country.
Up to two million people are threatened in Japan by the arrival of the typhoon, NHK national television warned on Saturday, indicating that there were evacuation instructions for the inhabitants of Kagoshima, Kumamoto and Miyazaki in the Kyushu region, in the south of the archipelago. .
Forecast arrival on the main island
The typhoon is expected to make landfall in Kyushu in Kagoshima province on Sunday and continue north from there before heading towards Japan’s main island.
“There is a risk of unprecedented storms, high waves, storm surges and heavy rainfall,” Ryuta Kurora, head of the agency’s weather forecasting unit, told reporters.
“Ultimate caution is requested,” he added, asking residents to evacuate the area as soon as possible. “This typhoon is very dangerous,” he said.
“The wind will be so fierce that some houses could collapse,” he said, warning that flooding and landslides could also occur.
Affected flights and trains
Before Typhoon Nanmadol hit, flight cancellations began to affect regional airports, especially those in Kagoshima, Miyazaki and Kumamoto, according to the websites of Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways.
The JMA said that Nanmadol has intensified since Friday and that it is a “dangerous” typhoon like we have never seen before.
Some rail service operators and supermarkets have already announced the total or partial suspension of their services this Sunday before the arrival of the typhoon.
The agency believes that Nanmadol, the fourteenth typhoon of the current season in the Pacific, may change its path to the northeast and then pass over the island of Honshu, the country’s main one.