Published on : Monday, September 7, 2020
Nearly seven million people have been warned for evacuation from their homes as a powerful tropical storm batters Japan amid warnings of 134mph winds strong enough to flatten trees.
This tropical storm Typhoon Haishen hit the southern mainland on Sunday cutting off power to tens of thousands of families and prompting authorities to order around 1.8 million people to get out of the path of the cyclone.
It is according to the local media reported, a further 5.6 million people have been issued with lower-level evacuation advisories as torrential rain lashed communities near the coast.They have been advised to move to designated shelters in places like schools and community centres.
Japan’s weather agency has now urged people to exercise ‘serious caution” amid the threat of record rain, powerful winds and shocking waves.
The cyclone was forecast to carry top sustained winds of up to 134 mph by Monday, forecasters warned.
The authorities urged evacuations for people in areas across seven prefectures in southern Japan, public broadcaster NHK said.
Elderly citizens wearing face masks due to the coronavirus outbreak were seen gathering at evacuation centres in Kagoshima and other parts of southern Japan.
The typhoon has cut power to some 180,000 homes. Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency said two injuries had been reported.
The typhoon was forecast to approach the Goto Islands west of Nagasaki around 3am on Monday local time and then move to the Korean peninsula, according to the meteorological agency.
One evacuation centre in Miyazaki reached capacity and stopped accepting evacuees as a precaution against the coronavirus, according to reports.
Tags: japan, south korea