Authorities have issued a rare emergency warning to prepare for a powerful typhoon that has battered southwestern Japan with torrential rain and high-speed winds of up to 250 km/h (155 mph). The storm has caused widespread travel disruptions, including train and flight cancellations.
The emergency warnings were issued on Wednesday due to storms and high waves in Kagoshima Prefecture on the southern tip of mainland Japan. Evacuation orders were issued for 800,000 residents of the southwesternmost island of Kyushu and the prefectures of Aichi and Shizuoka southwest of Tokyo on the central island of Honshu.
Japan Airlines has canceled 172 domestic flights and six international flights scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. ANA has canceled 219 domestic flights and four international flights scheduled for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Up to 25,000 travelers are expected to be affected by the cancellations.
The Shinkansen, Japan’s high-speed train network, canceled some services on Tuesday and Wednesday. The cancellations are expected to continue throughout Thursday.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) estimated that Typhoon Shanshan was 70 kilometers (43 miles) from Yakushima island at 2 p.m. (5 a.m. GMT) on Wednesday and was moving northward toward Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures in southwest Kyushu, public broadcaster NHK reported.
The JMA said the typhoon would reach Kyushu in the next few days and move toward central and eastern regions, including the capital Tokyo, by the weekend.
More than 50 flights were recently cancelled and residents evacuated after torrential rains caused severe flooding in Spain’s Balearic Islands.
