Tokyo: At least four people were reported missing and over 50 others injured after a powerful typhoon lashed Japan’s Kyushu island, officials said Monday.
Typhoon Haishen, with its hurricane-like gusty winds and torrential downpours, caused widespread blackouts and forced flights and Shinkansen bullet train services to be cancelled in the affected regions, Xinhua news agency reported.
Six prefectures had issued evacuation orders or advisories to some 870,000 people Monday, with utility companies saying that 300,000 households, mainly in the Kyushu area, have been left without electricity.
As for typhoon Haishen disrupting transportation, around 580 domestic flights were cancelled on Monday and all Shinkansen bullet train services were canceled in Kyushu as well as services between Hakata and Hiroshima, operators said.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) warned people to remain vigilant for swollen rivers, storm surges, floods and further possible landslides as the typhoon headed for the Korean Peninsular.
Haishen was moving on a northward trajectory at a speed of about 50 km per hour off the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula. With an atmospheric pressure of 960 hectopascals at its center, the typhoon is continuing to generate powerful winds recorded at up to 180 km per hour, the JMA said.