On maximum alert, Japan braces for typhoon Nanmadol
Tokyo, Sep 18 (EFE).- Japan was bracing for the landing of a powerful typhoon in the southwestern Kyushu region on Sunday that can trigger strong winds and heavy rains.
Typhoon Nanmadol, despite weakening, has prompted the Japan Meteorological Agency to issue the highest alert level.
The 14th typhoon to hit Japan in the current season was moving from Yakushima towards Kyushu, the second most populous island in the country, on Sunday.
The met agency lowered its category from violent to very strong.
But the weather department warned that it could still carry gusts of 250 km per hour.
The Yakushima island recorded gusts exceeding 160 km per hour in the early hours of Sunday.
The storm prompted the met agency to issue a special warning that it can bring “unprecedented” surges and downpours when it lands on the southern island of Kyushu, which is home to more than 13 million people.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has called on people in Japan to evacuate promptly if they “even feel the slightest danger.”
The agency calculates that the south of Kyushu, where floods and landslides are feared, could register up to 600 mm of accumulated rain until early Monday.
The north of the island could receive up to 400 mm of rain.
Domestic flights to or from Kyushu stand canceled since Saturday.
Rail services were also affected in southern Kyushu.
West Japan Railway Co. said it would stop running all Sanyo Shinkansen bullet trains between Hiroshima and Hakata stations on Monday. EFE
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