Typhoon Shanshan pounds Japan with torrential rains, severe wind

Renesas Electronics

30/08/2024 01:12

By Tim Kelly
       FUKUOKA, Japan, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Typhoon Shanshan
brought torrential rain across large parts of Japan on Friday,
with warnings for flooding and landslides hundreds of miles from
the storm's centre, as many transport services ground to a halt
and factories closed.  
    In the southwestern region of Kyushu, where what authorities
say could be one of the strongest storms ever to hit the region
made landfall on Thursday, residents in Fukuoka city were
hunkering down, with streets quiet and shops shuttered.
    At the main rail station, Motoki Tanimura, a 39-year-old
employee at a manufacturing company, arrived in the city late on
Thursday evening for a work trip but feared she would not be
able to get back home to Osaka.  
    "This typhoon's path keeps changing, making it
unpredictable, so it's hard to get updates on the transportation
situation. I'm planning to return on Saturday, but I'm not sure
if I can make it," she said.
    At least three people have been killed so far and 78
injured, according to the disaster management agency.
    Bringing gusts of up to 50 metres per second (180 km per
hour/112 mph), strong enough to blow over moving trucks, the
typhoon was near the coastal city of Kunisaki in Oita Prefecture
at 8:45 a.m. (2345 GMT) and moving northeast, according to
authorities.
    Around 125,000 households in seven prefectures were without
power in Kyushu, according to Kyushu Electric Power Co. 
    But the warm and moist air flowing around the typhoon have
also brought heavy rains in areas far from the main body, which
authorities say is concerning given its slower than expected
movement across the country. 
    Notices advising residents to be ready to evacuate have been
issued to millions across the country, mainly in the hard-hit
Kyushu area but also as far away as Yokohama, Japan's
second-largest city adjacent to the capital Tokyo. Authorities
there said there were risks of landslides due to heavy rain. 
    After hovering over Kyushu on Friday, the storm was expected
to approach the central and eastern regions, which includes
Tokyo, around the weekend, the weather agency said.
    Toyota  7203.T  suspended operations in all of its domestic
plants due to the storm, while other automakers Nissan  7201.T 
and Honda  7267.T , and semiconductor firms Renesas  6723.T ,
Tokyo Electron  8035.T  and Rohm  6963.T , also temporarily
halted production at some factories.
    Airlines, including ANA Holdings  9202.T  and Japan Airlines
 9201.T , have already announced cancellations of hundreds of
flights while many train, bus and ferry services in Kyushu have
also been halted, according to the transport ministry.
    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 Tim Kelly; Writing by John Geddie; Editing by
Stephen Coates)
 ((John.Geddie@thomsonreuters.com; +81 80 7264 2833;))