Two million Japanese were threatened by the dangerous typhoon

Tokyo | Two million Japanese people are at risk from the arrival of Typhoon Nanmadol, national broadcaster NHK warned on Saturday, as the weather agency issued a rare “special warning” urging residents to take shelter.

The channel, which compiles warnings issued by local authorities, said evacuation instructions were in effect for residents of Kagoshima, Kumamoto and Miyazaki in the southern Kyushu region of the archipelago.

The move came as the Japan Meteorological Agency issued its highest alert for the Kagoshima region, the first such alert to be seen in decades.

An evacuation “order” – level four on a scale of five – was issued for the city of Kagoshima’s 330,000 residents, and officials urged people to go to shelters.

On Saturday evening, the typhoon was classified as “severe” by the Nammadol agency and was packing winds of 270 km/h as it hovered about 200 km north-northeast of Minami Daito Island. Okinawa area.

The typhoon is expected to approach or make landfall in Kagoshima Prefecture on Sunday, then move north the next day before moving towards Japan’s main island.

“The risk of typhoons with high tides and record rainfall is unprecedented,” Ryuta Kurora, head of the Japan Meteorological Agency’s forecast division, told reporters.

“Extreme caution is required,” he said, urging residents to evacuate as soon as possible.

“It is a very dangerous typhoon” and “the wind will be very strong, some houses are likely to collapse,” Kurora said, adding that floods and landslides could occur.

Mr Kurora said the weather agency could issue a maximum warning for the Kagoshima region after Saturday.

This is the first typhoon-related special warning issued outside the Okinawa region since the system was established in 2013.

The concerned population is called upon to move to shelters or alternative accommodation that can withstand extreme weather conditions.

But these warnings are not orders. During extreme weather events in the past, authorities have struggled to get residents to shelter.

Kurora said residents should take precautions even inside fortified buildings.

“Please go to strong buildings before strong winds blow and stay away from windows even inside strong buildings,” he told a gathering in the late evening.

Japan is in the middle of typhoon season. It is hit by about 20 cyclones every year, accompanied by heavy rains that cause landslides or flash floods.

In 2019, Typhoon Hagibis battered Japan, host of the Rugby World Cup, killing more than 100 people. A year ago, Typhoon JB closed Osaka’s Kansai Airport, killing 14 people. And in 2018, floods and landslides in western Japan during the rainy season killed more than 200 people.

Before Typhoon Nanmadol made landfall, flight cancellations began affecting regional airports including Kagoshima, Miyazaki and Kumamoto, according to Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways websites.

Scientists say climate change is increasing the intensity of storms and making extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts and flash floods more frequent and severe.