Typhoon Shanshan prompts mass evacuations in southern Japan
Nearly 4 million residents of southern Japan have been urged to evacuate as Typhoon Shanshan made landfall on Thursday, unleashing hurricane-force winds, torrential rains, and dangerous storm surges across Kyushu, the country’s southernmost island. The powerful storm has left thousands without power and caused significant disruption to transportation and daily life.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued an emergency warning for the slow-moving typhoon, highlighting the risk of catastrophic flooding and landslides in Kyushu. With record rainfall expected, the storm has the potential to cause extensive damage. As a precaution, hundreds of flights have been canceled, bullet train services have been suspended, and major companies, including Toyota, have shut down their factories.
Authorities have labeled the situation as life-threatening, particularly in Oita prefecture, where 57,000 people have been urged to take immediate action. A Level 4 evacuation advisory, affecting 3.7 million people across Kyushu, remains in effect. Local reports confirm that one person is missing, and dozens have been injured. Earlier this week, three people lost their lives in a landslide triggered by Shanshan’s destructive winds and rain.
As of Thursday, Typhoon Shanshan, now weakened to the equivalent of a Category 1 Atlantic hurricane, was slowly moving north through Kyushu. The storm’s center was located about 150 kilometers southeast of Sasebo, with sustained winds reaching up to 185 kilometers per hour. Despite weakening, the storm continues to pose significant risks due to its slow movement, which has resulted in prolonged periods of heavy rainfall in the affected areas.
In Miyazaki, near the storm’s landfall, widespread damage has been reported, including downed electricity pylons and debris-strewn roads. Other regions of Japan have also been impacted by the storm’s heavy rains, which have caused flooding and landslides far beyond Kyushu. In central Japan’s Aichi prefecture, a landslide buried a family of five when it destroyed their home on Tuesday.
Three people, including an elderly couple and a 30-year-old man, were killed, while two women in their 40s were pulled from the debris alive, one of whom sustained severe injuries. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi warned that the storm is expected to bring “record-breaking rainfall,” with some areas already experiencing over half a meter of rain. The storm is forecasted to drop as much as one meter of rain in isolated and hilly regions.
Shanshan is projected to turn eastward and move through Kyushu, weakening to a tropical storm by the end of Thursday. It will continue its slow progression across southwestern Japan, affecting central regions over the weekend and potentially into early next week, albeit as a much weaker system. The primary threat across the rest of Japan remains widespread, significant rainfall, particularly in Shikoku and Honshu.