Japan has always lived with natural forces such as earthquakes and typhoons. Now a strong cyclone has hit land. The authorities are warning residents of the dangers.
Tokyo – A strong typhoon has hit Japan’s southwestern main island of Kyushu, bringing heavy rain and whipping winds to the region. At least 54 people were injured, Japanese television station NHK reported.
A man in his 60s fell from a small boat into the sea in heavy waves off the coast of Kagoshima Prefecture, it was reported. He was initially considered missing. The national weather agency warned residents of the region about the dangers posed by the typhoon.
Hundreds of thousands of households without electricity
The power went out in 250,000 households, the television station NHK reported. In the city of Nagasaki, almost 400,000 people were called to safety. Train connections were interrupted and numerous flights were canceled.
According to media reports, carmaker Toyota decided to stop operations on the 28 production lines in all of its 14 domestic assembly plants until Friday. The decision was taken taking into account the safety of employees and possible shortages of parts caused by the typhoon.
Typhoon continues to move across archipelago
Meanwhile, “Shanshan”, the tenth typhoon of the season, is moving northwards. According to NHK, the cyclone is expected to sweep across the entire archipelago in the next few days.
The typhoon hit land near Satsumasendai in Kagoshima Prefecture in the morning and was moving north at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour and wind speeds of up to 216 kilometers per hour, the authority said. dpa
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