Millions were ordered to evacuate their homes as Typhoon Shanshan battered southwest Japan with powerful winds and torrential rain on Thursday, causing widespread power outages, disrupting air travel, and shutting down major factories. At least three people have lost their lives, and many more have been injured in what authorities have cautioned could be one of the strongest storms to ever strike the region.
Typhoon Shanshan is producing gusts of up to 50 meters per second (180 km). It was located near Unzen City in Nagasaki Prefecture at 1:45 p.m. (0445 GMT), moving northward at a speed of approximately 15 km/h, according to the weather agency. After lingering over Kyushu for the next few days, the storm is expected to approach central and eastern regions of Japan, including Tokyo, by the weekend.
Toyota, a major automaker, suspended operations at all its domestic plants due to the storm. Nissan, Honda, chipmakers Renesas and Tokyo Electron also temporarily halted production at several of their factories.
Kyushu Electric Power Co. stated that approximately 230,000 households in seven prefectures were without power as of the afternoon. The utility also confirmed that its Sendai Nuclear Power Plant in Satsumasendai city, where the storm made landfall earlier on Thursday, remained unaffected. Authorities have issued evacuation notices to more than 5.2 million people across the country.
Scientists assert that typhoons are becoming more powerful due to human-driven climate change
A devastating typhoon that ravaged the Philippines, Taiwan, and China last month, destroying infrastructure and claiming over 100 lives, was significantly intensified by human-induced climate change, scientists reported on Thursday. As typhoon Shanshan struck Japan, climate researchers highlighted that warmer seas are providing additional “fuel” for tropical storms in Asia, making them increasingly dangerous.
Typhoon Gaemi began its destructive path across East Asia on July 22, dumping more than 300mm of rain on Manila, the capital of the Philippines, in a single day. Winds reached speeds of up to 232 km/h, generating storm surges that sank an oil tanker off the Philippine coast and a cargo ship near Taiwan. Gaemi’s heavy rains also triggered deadly mudslides in China’s Hunan province.
According to a report by World Weather Attribution, an alliance of researchers studying the link between climate change and extreme weather, Typhoon Gaemi’s wind speeds were approximately 14.5 km/h stronger, and its rainfall was up to 14% heavier due to warmer sea temperatures.
