Severe power outages as Typhoon Nanmadol travels towards Tokyo

More than 300,000 households across southwestern Japan have been left without power after Typhoon Nanmadol made landfall late on Sunday, prompting local authorities to issue a “special warning” urging residents to seek shelter from the powerful storm.

The storm is now moving north across Japan’s third largest island, Kyushu, and is expected to bring about strong rains throughout the week,  agencies said Monday.

Close to 10 million people in Kyushu were advised to seek shelter in sturdy buildings or move to higher ground in advance of the storm’s arrival Sunday. Such advisories are not mandatory and in the past authorities have struggled to encourage people to leave their homes. On Sunday, Kyushu authorities took the unusual step of issuing a rarely used “special warning” in the hope of conveying the seriousness of the threat posed by the storm.

A “large-scale disaster” could also be imminent with extensive flooding and landslides, agencies warned. “The highest level of vigilance is required for rising water levels and flooding of rivers, landslide disasters and flooding of lowlands,” it said on Sunday.

Several prefectures which include the cities of Fukuoka and Nagasaki, have been without electricity since the arrival of the typhoon on Sunday, said the Kyushu Electric power company. At least 17 people so far have been injured from the typhoon, authorities added.

Nanmadol is the 14th typhoon Japan has experienced this year and comes after the country grappled with record-setting heatwaves in June that caused a massive power outage to millions of residents in the capital Tokyo and high numbers of heatstroke among the vulnerable elderly.

Nanmadol is expected to travel to central Japan toward Tokyo over the coming days and will maintain much of its strength as it moves, experts warned.

Ferries and bullet train services, as well as hundreds of flights, have been canceled across the country due to the dangerous weather.

Agencies