The Japanese authorities have instructed thousands of people in the southwest of the country to evacuate homes and stay in shelters before the arrival of the powerful and devastating Typhoon Nanmadol.
Thousands of people are staying in shelters in southwestern Japan, Sunday, as Typhoon Nanmadol arrives, which prompted authorities to issue evacuation orders to millions of residents.
The Japan Meteorological Agency had issued a "special warning" for the Kagoshima region in the southern island of Kyushu, which is issued only when the agency forecasts weather conditions in the country once in decades.
By Sunday morning, 25,680 homes were out of power in Kagoshima's Miyazaki prefecture, while train services, flights and ferries were suspended and resumed after the storm subsided, according to the local utilities and transportation authority.
The Japan Meteorological Agency warned that the region could face "unprecedented" risks from wind and rain.
And Saturday, the head of the weather forecast unit at the agency, Ryota Korura, told reporters: "The utmost caution must be exercised," warning that the expected typhoon was "very dangerous."
"The winds will be so strong that some houses may collapse," Korora told reporters, warning of floods and landslides.
So far, 2.9 million Kyushu residents have been ordered to evacuate, according to the government's Fire and Disaster Management Agency, and Kagoshima officials said the number of people who had been moved to evacuation centers by Sunday morning had exceeded 8,500.
Evacuation orders include recommendations for residents to move to shelters or places that can withstand severe weather conditions.
But eviction orders are not binding in Japan and authorities have previously had difficulties convincing residents to head to shelters quickly enough.
Korora urged residents to evacuate their homes before the storm intensified and stressed the need to take the necessary precautions, especially for residents of sturdy buildings.
'Ultimate caution'
"Please move to sturdy buildings before the strong winds start blowing, and stay away from windows even inside sturdy buildings," Korora said.
By Sunday morning, high-speed trains and local trains had stopped running, and the official NHK media network reported that at least 510 flights had been cancelled.
On Sunday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said that "the southern part of the Kyushu region may witness violent winds, strong waves and high tides," stressing that the severity of these phenomena will be "unprecedented," and urged residents to exercise "the utmost caution."
An official in the Kagoshima region told AFP that there were no reports of casualties or material damage, but indicated that the situation was deteriorating.
He referred to "the intensification of rain and wind," and said that "the rain is so heavy that it is impossible to see what is happening outside. Everything looks white."
At nine in the morning (00.00 GMT), the typhoon was about 80 kilometers southeast of Yakushima Island, with winds of up to 252 kilometers per hour.
The typhoon is expected to bring heavy rains to Kyushu on Sunday evening, and then turn northeast to hit the territory of Japan's largest island on Wednesday morning.
The current season is typhoon season in Japan, which experiences about 20 similar storms every year and torrential rains cause landslides or floods.
In 2019, typhoon "Hagibis" hit Japan while it was hosting the Rugby World Cup, killing more than 100 people. A year ago, Typhoon Jebi closed the Kansai Airport in Osaka and killed 14 people.
Floods and landslides killed more than 200 people in western Japan during the annual rainy season in 2018. Scientists say climate change is causing storms, temperatures, floods and droughts to increase.