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AFP
Kagoshima
An extremely powerful typhoon was barrelling towards southwestern Japan on Saturday as authorities issued evacuation advisories to thousands of residents, warning of unprecedented violent winds, heavy rain and high waves.
Haishen churned near Okinawa in southern Japan on Saturday afternoon and was expected to approach Kyushu late Sunday or early Monday, the meteorological agency said.
The storm is expected to affect Japan from late Saturday, with winds of up to 290 kilometres per hour, making it a “violent” storm -- the top level on the country’s classification scale.
“There is a danger of record winds, heavy rain, high waves and storm surge,” Yoshihisa Nakamoto, an agency officer, told a news conference, calling for an early evacuation and “maximum caution.”
Yuhei Takamura, a government official, told the conference: “A disaster will occur. There is almost no doubt about it.”
About 4,600 people in Tarumizu, Kagoshima, were urged to evacuate swiftly, while authorities in other areas of Kyushu were warning their residents to prepare.
Authorities on Minamidaitojima instructed about 1,300 residents to evacuate as the storm was expected to hit the remote island, east of Okinawa.
“We urge all of our islanders to be on full alert as winds are getting stronger and expected to be violent,” Hidehito Iha, a local government official, told AFP.
Footage showed troops escorting dozens of people at a heliport in Kagoshima, southern Kyushu, after they evacuated from another remote island by a military helicopter.
The storm grounded nearly 100 flights, public broadcaster NHK said, while some services of Shinkansen bullet trains were set to be suspended in western Japan on Monday.
Meanwhile, Haishen forced the Japan coast guard to suspend its search for dozens of missing sailors from a cargo ship that sank in a separate storm, after two crew members were rescued.
“We resumed our search operation this morning by dispatching an airplane, but it returned without any clues,” a local coastguard official said.
Kagoshima
An extremely powerful typhoon was barrelling towards southwestern Japan on Saturday as authorities issued evacuation advisories to thousands of residents, warning of unprecedented violent winds, heavy rain and high waves.
Haishen churned near Okinawa in southern Japan on Saturday afternoon and was expected to approach Kyushu late Sunday or early Monday, the meteorological agency said.
The storm is expected to affect Japan from late Saturday, with winds of up to 290 kilometres per hour, making it a “violent” storm -- the top level on the country’s classification scale.
“There is a danger of record winds, heavy rain, high waves and storm surge,” Yoshihisa Nakamoto, an agency officer, told a news conference, calling for an early evacuation and “maximum caution.”
Yuhei Takamura, a government official, told the conference: “A disaster will occur. There is almost no doubt about it.”
About 4,600 people in Tarumizu, Kagoshima, were urged to evacuate swiftly, while authorities in other areas of Kyushu were warning their residents to prepare.
Authorities on Minamidaitojima instructed about 1,300 residents to evacuate as the storm was expected to hit the remote island, east of Okinawa.
“We urge all of our islanders to be on full alert as winds are getting stronger and expected to be violent,” Hidehito Iha, a local government official, told AFP.
Footage showed troops escorting dozens of people at a heliport in Kagoshima, southern Kyushu, after they evacuated from another remote island by a military helicopter.
The storm grounded nearly 100 flights, public broadcaster NHK said, while some services of Shinkansen bullet trains were set to be suspended in western Japan on Monday.
Meanwhile, Haishen forced the Japan coast guard to suspend its search for dozens of missing sailors from a cargo ship that sank in a separate storm, after two crew members were rescued.
“We resumed our search operation this morning by dispatching an airplane, but it returned without any clues,” a local coastguard official said.
