Heightened alert issued as heavy rain hits Japan’s Okinawa
Japan's weather agency on Sunday urged Okinawa residents to be on high alert for mudslides and other disasters as torrential rains are drenching the country's southernmost prefecture.
Typhoon Shanshan, which made its landfall on Thursday in the Japanese prefecture of Kagoshima, has brought heavy rain and strong winds that left three people dead, 82 injured, and one missing.
A landslide in Gamagori city of the prefecture of Aichi, caused by the warm, moist air from the typhoon on Tuesday, left three people dead and two injured, according to local media reports.
As of 5:50 p.m. local time on Thursday, the powerful storm had injured 79 people in the prefectures of Miyazaki and Kagoshima, and one person in Mie prefecture, Xinhua news agency reported.
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Meanwhile, a man in his 60s fell overboard while seeking refuge near Kagoshima and remains missing.
Shanshan, which weakened after making landfall at around 8 a.m. local time, has disrupted communication services and caused widespread power and water outages.
It has led to train service suspension of the Kyushu Shinkansen, parts of the Sanyo and Tokaido Shinkansen, and numerous flight cancellations.
The typhoon also significantly impacted logistics and delivery services, with more than 50 supermarkets and over 900 convenience stores temporarily closed in Kagoshima and Miyazaki.
Also on Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida convened a cabinet meeting urging citizens to remain vigilant against potential hazards like heavy rainfall, landslides and river flooding.
Typhoon Shanshan is expected to move slowly eastward starting Friday and potentially cause further disruptions, and authorities have advised the public to stay alert for severe weather conditions including heavy rain.
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