The 14th typhoon ‘Nanmadol’ hit Japan. It is heading north with a terrifying momentum, with a terrifying strong wind breaking a crane at a construction site, and torrential downpours exceeding an average of one month’s precipitation in just one day. About 8.3 million people are advised to evacuate from local areas affected by typhoons.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, Nanmadol, accompanied by strong winds and heavy rain, landed in Kagoshima Prefecture with a central pressure of 940 hectopascals (hPa), a maximum wind speed of 45 m/s near the center, and a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 60 m/s as of 9 pm on the 18th. .
It is predicted to move northwest along the western coast of the Japanese archipelago such as Yamaguchi, Shimane, and Tottori prefectures in a northwesterly direction along the western part of Kyushu.
At the Mikado Observatory in Misato-cho, Miyazaki Prefecture, 661.5 mm of precipitation was recorded for 24 hours until 10 pm that day. Considering that the average September precipitation for the 30 years from 1991 to 2020 at that point was 534.2 mm, it means that it rained more than a month’s worth of rain for one day.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued a special heavy rain warning for Miyazaki Prefecture, urging people not to delay their alert posture, saying, “It is raining like never before.”
In Kagoshima Prefecture, a crane was struck by a strong wind at an apartment building site, and in Shizuoka Prefecture, the exterior wall of the store fell in a gust of wind, injuring two people.
Transportation was also blocked. According to NHK, the Kyushu Shinkansen suspended all routes as of 1:30 pm on the 18th. It doesn’t even run on the 19th. The Sanyo Shinkansen, which connects Fukuoka and Osaka, will stop operating between Hakata and Hiroshima Stations on the 19th, and the number of services on the rest of the sections will be reduced than usual.
Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA), the two major local airlines, decided to cancel flight 510 as of 11 am on the 18th. Until the 19th, some flights from various places in Shikoku to Fukuoka and Tokyo are also expected to be canceled.
There have been reports of local casualties, including at least one death and 22 injuries due to the approach to Nan Madol.
Local governments in Kyushu and Yamaguchi, Hiroshima, Kochi, Ehime, and Tokushima prefectures, which are affected by Nanmadol, have issued a warning of level 5 or one level lower than the highest warning level 5 according to the heavy rain special warning. The Japanese government also upgraded the government office liaison room installed at the Prime Minister’s Office Crisis Management Center on the 18th to the government office countermeasures room to strengthen its alert posture, Kyodo News reported.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivered a message to the public at a ministerial meeting held on the same day, saying, “It would be good to pay attention to the latest weather information and evacuation information and take action to save lives early.”
By Kim Bong-gu, reporter at Hankyung.com kbk9@hankyung.com
