[ad_1]
TOKYO: Typhoon Haishen moved closer to the south of Japan on Sunday (September 6), cutting off power and prompting authorities to recommend evacuation and warn of potentially record-breaking rainfall, record-breaking winds, high tides and large swells.
Authorities urged the early evacuation of more than 100,000 homes in the southern island of Okinawa prefecture and in Kagoshima, Kumamoto and Nagasaki on Kyushu, Japan’s main southern island, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency (FDMA). ).
“This typhoon is heading towards Kyushu and could make landfall, bringing rain, winds, waves and record high tides,” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said in a meeting with cabinet ministers.
“I ask people to be extremely cautious.”
READ: Japan braces for mighty Typhoon Haishen, possible record rainfall
READ: Japan’s coast guard halts search for crew of capsized cattle boat due to bad weather
Trees on Yakushima, an island 100 kilometers south of Kagoshima City, could be seen shaking violently in high winds and torrential rain, in a post on Twitter.
Elderly people wearing face masks due to the coronavirus outbreak were gathering at evacuation centers in Kagoshima and other parts of southern Japan, images from national broadcaster NHK showed.
The typhoon has cut power to nearly 30,000 homes in Kagoshima prefecture and more than 3,000 homes in Okinawa, NHK said.
Two injuries have been reported, according to the FDMA, but authorities advised the highest levels of caution due to the risk of damage from high winds, flooding and landslides.
The typhoon is forecast to have an atmospheric pressure of 945 hectopascals at its center and sustained winds of up to 216 km / h by Monday, the weather agency said.
The center of the typhoon was near Yakushima on Sunday, moving north at 35 km / h.
The typhoon was forecast to approach the Goto Islands west of Nagasaki around 3 a.m. local time Monday (1800 GMT Sunday) and then move to the Korean Peninsula, according to Japan’s weather agency.
An evacuation center in Miyazaki reached capacity and stopped accepting evacuees as a precaution against the coronavirus, according to NHK.
Airlines canceled more than 500 flights departing from Okinawa and southern Japan, NHK said. Bullet train service in southern and western Japan was suspended, he said.
The Japanese coast guard on Saturday suspended its search for missing crew members of a cattle boat that capsized in the East China Sea for a second day due to the typhoon.
Typhoon Haishen follows Typhoon Maysak, which slammed into the Korean peninsula on Thursday, leaving at least two dead and thousands temporarily without power.