Japan. What you need to know about Typhoon Nanmadol which arrives in the south of the country this Sunday – Ouest-France

Typhoon Nanmadol will make landfall in southern Japan on Sunday, September 18, before moving up to Tokyo on Tuesday. On Saturday evening, typhoon Nanmadol, the fourteenth of the season, was classified as “violent” by the Japanese meteorological agency: it caused gusts of up to 270 km / h while flying over at an altitude of around 200 kilometers north-northeast of the island of Minami Daito, one of those which form the region of Okinawa. At 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) on Sunday, the typhoon was 80 km southeast of the small island of Yakushima and the wind was blowing at 252 km / h. It is expected to make landfall in Kyushu, further north, on Sunday evening before turning northeast and sweeping Japan’s main island of Honshu through Wednesday morning. So far, 2.9 million Kyushu residents have received urgent evacuation recommendations, according to the government’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency, and Kagoshima Prefecture officials said more than 8,500 people have s were already in shelters on Sunday morning. Which regions are most at risk? It is especially the island of Kyushu, in the south of the country, which fears the passage of Nanmadol, this Sunday evening. The Japanese meteorological agency issued an emergency alert on Saturday around 10 p.m. local time for Kagoshima prefecture: its inhabitants are on high alert for high winds, floods and landslides. In Kagoshima prefecture, the city of Izumi, 52,000 inhabitants, triggered the maximum state of alert – level five on a scale of five – this Sunday morning. The inhabitants are ordered to take shelter and not to go outside during the passage of the typhoon. Authorities are also reminding residents to stay away from windows. Waves that can reach thirteen meters high are expected in this part of the archipelago. An evacuation “order” – level four on a scale of five – has been issued for 330,000 residents of the city of Kagoshima, and authorities have urged people to go to solid shelters.

How many people are threatened by the passage of Nanmadol? Nearly three million Japanese are threatened by the arrival of Nanmadol. NHK, which compiles alerts issued by local authorities, said evacuation instructions were in place for residents of Kagoshima, but also Kumamoto and Miyazaki in the Kyushu region, south of the archipelago. As always, in these types of circumstances, residents are encouraged to prepare for possible water and electricity cuts by anticipating their needs for 5 to 7 days. Sunday morning, 25,680 homes in Kagoshima and Miyazaki were already without electricity. “Unprecedented” storm risk “The storm risk is unprecedented, with high waves and record rainfall,” Ryuta Kurora, head of the Japan Meteorological Agency’s forecasting unit, told reporters. “The utmost caution is required,” he said, urging residents to evacuate as quickly as possible. Typhoon Nanmadol has been classified as a “super typhoon” by the US Navy, which believes it has the potential to intensify into the most destructive tropical storm to hit Japan in decades. “Nanmadol is expected to bring torrential rains, high winds and dangerous seas to Okinawa this weekend, then to southern mainland Japan on Sunday and Monday,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Rob Richards. Two million Japanese are threatened by the arrival of Typhoon Nanmadol, the national television channel NHK warned on Saturday. | AFP PHOTO / JAPAN METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY September, typhoon season in Japan Japan is currently in the middle of typhoon season. The archipelago is hit by about 20 such storms each year, which are accompanied by heavy rains causing landslides or flash floods. In 2019, Typhoon Hagibis swept through Japan as it hosted the Rugby World Cup, claiming the lives of more than 100 people. A year earlier, Typhoon Jebi shut down Kansai airport in Osaka, killing 14 people. And in 2018, floods and landslides killed more than 200 people in western Japan during the rainy season. Climate change is resulting in more violent storms Scientists around the world say that climate change is increasing the intensity of these storms and making extreme weather conditions such as heat waves, droughts and flash floods more frequent and more frequent. intense. Severely disrupted transport in the south The airlines, Japan Airlines and ANA, canceled at least 510 flights which were to arrive or depart from Japanese airports, in particular for the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, this Sunday, September 18. Trains are also at a standstill on the island of Kyushu. Retail chain Seven-Eleven has closed its 610 stores in Kyushu and Chugoku regions since Saturday night, local media reported. chevron_leftchevron_right