NHK



 

Severe Tropical Storm Nanmadol is making its way up western Japan, bringing violent winds to almost all of Kyushu and parts of the nearby Chugoku and Shikoku regions.

The Meteorological Agency says that as of 10 a.m. on Monday, Nanmadol was located near the city of Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in the Chugoku region and moving north northeast at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour.

The severe tropical storm has a central atmospheric pressure of 975 hectopascals and a maximum wind speed of 108 kilometers per hour.

Nearly 1,000 millimeters of rainfall have been recorded in Misato Town, Miyazaki Prefecture since Thursday. That's about twice the average for the entire month of September.

The agency is warning people in affected areas to watch out for landslides, flooding in low-lying areas and swollen rivers.

The storm has also brought strong winds to the Kyushu and Shikoku regions.

Gusts of 145 kilometers per hour were recorded in Ikata Town, Ehime Prefecture at around 3:30 a.m. on Monday.

Nanmadol is expected to change course and move east after passing through Kyushu on Monday morning.

It is then likely to move northeast near the main island of Honshu through Tuesday, affecting many regions from western to northern Japan.

Bands of heavy rain clouds could develop over western and central Japan.
Rainfall in the 24-hour period through Tuesday morning could be up to 400 millimeters in the Shikoku and Tokai regions and up to 300 millimeters in the Kinki and Kanto-Koshin regions.

The Chugoku region could see as much as 250 millimeters, and northern Kyushu up to 200 millimeters.