Typhoon Nanmadol rips through Japan archipelago, leaves 2 dead
Typhoon Nanmadol moved across the Japanese archipelago toward the Pacific and weakened to a low pressure system on Tuesday after pounding the southwest with heavy rain and triggering landslides, leaving two people dead, one missing and over 100 injured.
After traveling along the Sea of Japan coast, the typhoon moved through the northeastern region of the country’s largest main island of Honshu early Tuesday, with the weather agency warning of strong winds, high tides and potential landslides in areas already hit by heavy rain.
The season’s 14th typhoon was one of the most powerful storms the country has ever seen when it reached the southwestern region of Kyushu on Sunday, bringing unprecedented winds and intense rainfall.
In Miyazaki Prefecture, a man was found dead after his mountainside cabin was destroyed by a mudslide, and another man was confirmed dead after being pulled out of a car submerged in flooded farmland.
A man was missing in Hiroshima and at least 134 people were injured, according to prefectural governments and the disaster management agency.
More than 46,000 homes were still without power as of 10 p.m. in areas served by Kyushu Electric Power Co., the utility said.
Landslides and a fallen bridge were confirmed in mountainous regions of Miyazaki, while part of the Hikone Castle structures, designated an important cultural property, in Shiga Prefecture was found damaged.
The typhoon wrought damage in Morotsuka, a village located in the mountainous regions of Miyazaki, which was similarly battered in a typhoon in September 2005 and had spent about 10 years to complete elevation work.
“I’m about to run out of gasoline from my private power generator, but I don’t know when I can get to the gas station outside of the village,” said Masaharu Nakada, a 71-year-old local.
In Saito, a city in Miyazaki that saw many of its houses flooded, one representative at a nursery school said, “We’re unable to use the refrigerator and the air conditioning. We’re worried that the children may get heatstroke as the temperatures are still high.”
Rainfall of up to 80 millimeters was expected over the 24 hours through noon Wednesday in central and eastern Japan, including Tokyo, and 60 mm in the northeast.
Japan Airlines Co. and All Nippon Airways Co. canceled some flights bound for or departing Tokyo’s Haneda airport as well as airports in the Kyushu, Shikoku and Kansai regions, while ferries linking the Niigata Port and Sado Island were canceled.
The Sanyo Shinkansen bullet train was delayed due to maintenance checks.