Typhoon Nanmadol kills two people in Japan

• Typhoon Nanmadol brings ferocious winds and record rainfall to western Japan.
• One of the biggest storms to hit the country in years killed at least two people.
• Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delays his departure to New York, where he is due to deliver a speech.

Typhoon Nanmadol brought ferocious winds and record rainfall to western Japan on Monday, killing at least two people and disrupting transportation and forcing manufacturers to close their doors.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has postponed his trip to New York, where he is scheduled to deliver a speech at the United Nations General Assembly.

“I have postponed my scheduled departure from today to assess the typhoon’s damage and to take all possible recovery measures,” Kishida told reporters on Monday evening. “If circumstances allow, I will leave tomorrow morning.”

The 14th typhoon of the season made landfall near Kagoshima late Sunday before wreaking havoc on Japan’s western island of Kyushu and roaring onto the main island of Honshu on Monday morning.

A river in Kyushu’s Miyazaki prefecture overflowed, flooding fields and roads, according to NHK footage. Other footage showed a riverside house half-hanging over a torrent, a gas station’s tin roof ripped off, and a toppled billboard leaning over a street from the top of a building.

“We must be extremely vigilant for heavy rains, gales, high waves, and storm surges,” a Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) official said at a press conference.

According to NHK, one man was discovered dead inside his car, which had been submerged to the rooftop in the middle of a field, and another died after being caught in a landslide.

Also Read

A powerful typhoon batters southern Japan

Typhoon Nanmadol is near the southern island of Yakushima. It is packing...

According to NHK, one more person is still missing, and at least 87 people have been injured.

The trade ministry reported that approximately 340,000 households, the majority of which were in Kyushu, were without power early Monday, while Kyushu Railway said it had ceased operations on Kyushu and Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways cancelled approximately 800 flights, according to public broadcaster NHK.

After tracking the coastline earlier on Monday, the storm made landfall again in Shimane Prefecture in western Honshu, and was moving east at about 22 miles per hour, according to the JMA.

According to the agency, the storm will veer into the Japan Sea for a second time and track the coast to the north of Honshu into Tuesday before crossing overland and moving northeast out into the Pacific.

It predicted up to 15.75 inches of rain in central Japan’s Tokai region, the country’s industrial heartland, over the next 24 hours.

Toyota was among the manufacturers who said they would halt production at some of their plants due to the storm, but there were no reports of major industry damage.

Intermittent bouts of heavy rain lashed Tokyo, but businesses remained open for business.

Most schools were already closed on Monday due to a public holiday.

Also Read

Typhoon Nanmadol hits Japan, evacuating millions

Typhoon Nanmadol has brought winds of at least 180 km/h (112 mph)...