Typhoon Shanshan makes landfall in Japan, killing 3 and snarling air traffic (updated)

KYUDEN Holdings

29/08/2024 04:09

(Updates with death toll, government spokesperson comment)
    By Satoshi Sugiyama and Kiyoshi Takenaka
       TOKYO, Aug 29 (Reuters) - 
    At least three people were killed in southwestern Japan on
Thursday as Typhoon Shanshan made landfall in Kagoshima
prefecture, bringing heavy rain and very strong winds as well as
 snarling air traffic and knocking out power to over a quarter
million households. 
        Major automakers including Toyota  7203.T  and Nissan
 7201.T  suspended operations in some or all of their domestic
factories due to the storm. 
  
    The typhoon, with gusts of up to 55 metres per second (198
km per hour/123 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. 
    Three people were dead, one was missing, two were severely
injured, and five suffered minor injuries because of the
typhoon, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said. 
    "As this typhoon is moving slowly, total amount of rain 
could be rather big," Hayashi told a regular news conference. 
    Footage from public broadcaster NHK showed walls torn and
window glass of buildings broken in Miyazaki city in southern
Kyushu, 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 hovering over Kyushu for 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.
    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 and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
 ((Satoshi.Sugiyama@thomsonreuters.com;))