High waves pound the coast of the Kagoshima city, southwestern Japan Sunday, Sept. 6, 2020. The second powerful typhoon to slam Japan in a week unleashed fierce winds and rain on southern islands on Sunday, blowing off rooftops and leaving homes without power as it edged northward into an area vulnerable to flooding and mudslides. TAKUTO KANEKO
By Yuri Kageyama for the Associated Press via The Wichita Eagle
TOKYO
The second powerful typhoon to slam Japan in a week unleashed fierce winds and rain on southern islands on Sunday, blowing off rooftops and leaving homes without power as it edged northward into an area vulnerable to flooding and mudslides.
Weather officials warned that the rainfall from what could be a record storm would be fierce. Warnings were issued days in advance for people to be ready to take shelter and stock up on food and water.
Several rivers on the main southwestern island of Kyushu were at risk of overflowing, officials said. Public broadcaster NHK TV said evacuation warnings were issued for more than 50,000 people in Okinawa and Kyushu, including Kagoshima and and Nagasaki prefectures.
News footage showed people in Kyushu starting to gather at gymnasiums, before winds gather momentum in the evening. Social distancing will be in place to guard against the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said Typhoon Haishen, which means “sea god” in Chinese, was packing sustained winds of up to 162 kilometers (100 miles) per hour after battering Okinawa and the southern Kyushu island of Amami Oshima early Sunday. Alerts for strong winds, waves, high tides, rainfall and lightning were issued for Amami Oshima alongside evacuation orders. Read more from The Wichita Eagle.
