More than eight million people in Japan were ordered to evacuate and seek shelter yesterday as a powerful typhoon made its way up the country.
Typhoon Nanmadol brought torrential rain and the risk of destructive landslides to Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost main island. It is expected to traverse virtually the entire length of Japan over the coming days.
Japan’s meteorological agency classified the storm as a “violent typhoon,” its most severe category. Heavy rain is the main safety concern, but high winds could cause powerful waves. CNN cited the agency as saying that the storm could cause unprecedented storm surges and “large-scale disaster.”
Officials said that some parts of Kyushu were expected to receive 20 inches (more than 50 centimeters) of rain or more, an amount not seen in the area in decades.
About 190,000 households lost power. Kyushu’s entire bullet train service was suspended, and hundreds of domestic flights were canceled. By yesterday evening, a few injuries had been reported but no deaths.