‘Nan Madol’ hits Japan, up to 1000mm of heavy rain… 1 killed – at least 69 injured

Japan’s NHK reported on the 19th that Typhoon Nanmadol, the 14th typhoon, hit mainland Japan, killing one person and injuring at least 69 people. Depending on the region, heavy rain and strong winds caused landslides of up to 1000 mm and damage such as breaking building signs.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who was due to go to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, postponed his departure to the 20th to prepare for typhoon damage.

As of 1:00 pm that day, Nanmadol passed through the Kyushu region in southwestern Japan and made landfall in Yamaguchi Prefecture in western Honshu. Nan Madol is heading north-east at a speed of 15 km per hour with a central pressure of 975 hectopascal (hPa), a maximum wind speed of 30 m/s, and a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 45 m.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, Nanmadol will pass through the East Sea around 9 pm and make landfall again in the mainland facing the East Sea, including Niigata Prefecture, on the morning of the 20th.

Workers remove a fallen tree in Kumamoto Prefecture, where Typhoon Nanmadol made landfall on the 19th. AP

The typhoon is expected to directly or indirectly affect most of the metropolitan areas such as Tokyo and major Japanese cities such as Osaka and Nagoya. The Japan Meteorological Agency said, “The western part of Japan has fallen within a wide range of storms.

Due to this typhoon, 985 mm of rain fell in Nango, Misato Town, Miyazaki Prefecture from the 15th to 11 am on the same day, and 678.5 meters in Miyakonojo City. In Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture, 352 mm of rain fell in 24 hours until 8:30 am, the most precipitation since meteorological observations.

In Hiroshima and Yamaguchi precautions, there is a risk that some multi-purpose dams could become full of water, so emergency releases from downstream areas have been initiated. These local governments announced, “Never approach rivers as there is a risk of river flooding due to emergency spills.”

According to NHK, in the City of Miyakonojo, a man in his 60s was found dead in a vehicle standing next to the embankment of a river that runs through the city. In Mimata, Miyazaki Prefecture, a landslide occurred at a workplace, leaving a man in his 40s missing. At a fire station in Kagoshima Prefecture, a firefighter suffered a broken finger bone when a door suddenly closed due to strong winds. In Ehime Prefecture, a man in his 50s was injured when he fell in a strong wind while repairing a rain leak in his house.

Hiroshima Station, where the ticket gates were closed as trains were stopped due to Typhoon Nanmadol on the 19th. AP

The Shinkansen from Fukuoka to Kagoshima and the Fukuoka to Hiroshima Shinkansen are completely suspended. The Osaka-Nagoya Shinkansen section stopped operating at 4 pm, and Nagoya-Tokyo reduced its service significantly from 2 pm JR Kyushu, the largest railway company in the Kyushu region, and JR West, which is responsible for railways in the region Kansai including Osaka, all regular trains on the same day. Japan Airlines (JAL) suspended 461 flights to and from Kyushu and ANA Airlines 343 flights.

Tokyo = Correspondent Lee Sang-hoon sanghun@donga.com