Japan hit by heavy rain, power outage as Typhoon Shanshan makes landfall

KYUDEN Holdings

29/08/2024 01:50

TOKYO, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Southwestern Japan was hit on
Thursday by heavy rain and very strong winds as Typhoon Shanshan
made landfall in Kagoshima prefecture, knocking out power supply
for over a quarter million households and injuring dozens of
people. 
    The typhoon, categorised as 'strong' with gusts of up to 60
metres per second (216 km per hour/134 mph), made landfall near
Satsumasendai city located in the country's southwestern island
of Kyushu on Thursday morning, the weather agency said. 
    Authorities warned the storm could be one of the strongest
ever to hit the region, and local governments have issued
evacuation orders for millions of residents in several
prefectures. 
    One person is missing and 39 people are injured in Kagoshima
and Miyazaki prefectures, public broadcaster NHK reported.
Footage from NHK showed walls torn and window glass of buildings
broken in Miyazaki, apparently by wind gusts, with objects
scattered on the street or hanging from utility poles. 
    More than 250,000 households in seven prefectures are
experiencing power outage as of 9:00 a.m. on Thursday (0000
GMT), according to Kyushu Electric Power Co.
    After striking Kyushu over the next few days, the storm is
expected to approach the central and eastern regions, including
the capital Tokyo, around the weekend, the weather agency said.
    Major automakers including Toyota  7203.T  and Nissan
 7201.T  suspended operations for Thursday in some or all of
their domestic factories due to the storm.
    Airlines, including ANA Holdings  9202.T  and Japan Airlines
 9201.T , have already announced cancellations of more than 600
domestic flights. Train services have been suspended in many
areas of Kyushu. 
    Typhoon Shanshan is the latest harsh weather system to hit
Japan, following Typhoon Ampil, which also led to blackouts and
evacuations, earlier this month.

 (Reporting by Satoshi Sugiyama; Editing by Muralikumar
Anantharaman)
 ((Satoshi.Sugiyama@thomsonreuters.com;))