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Thousands of people were in shelters in southwestern Japan on Sunday as powerful Typhoon Nanmadol churned towards the region, prompting authorities to urge nearly three million residents to evacuate.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has issued a "special warning" for the Kagoshima region in southern Kyushu prefecture, an alert that is issued only when it forecasts conditions seen once in several decades.
By Sunday morning, 25,680 households in Kagoshima and neighboring Miyazaki were already without power, while regional train services, flights and ferry runs were cancelled until the passage of the storm, local utilities and transport services said.
The JMA has warned the region could face "unprecedented" danger from high winds, storm surges and torrential rain.
"Maximum caution is required," Ryuta Kurora, head of the JMA's forecast unit said on Saturday.
"The wind will be so fierce that some houses might collapse," she added.
Bd-pratidin English/Ishrar Tabassum
