Torrential downpours battered several parts of Japan on Friday as typhoon Shanshan brought transport to a standstill and caused factories to shut down. The typhoon further prompted flood and landslide alerts.
Said to be one of the strongest storms ever to hit the country, Shanshan made landfall in the southwestern region of Kyushu on August 29, Reuters reported.
‘Never seen all trains stop’
A 21-year-old university student, Kokoro Osoegawa, found herself stranded while seeking shelter at the entrance of a rain-drenched, abandoned shopping mall near the city’s train station. “There are no trains because of the typhoon, so my parents are coming to pick me up. I stayed at a friend’s house and then came here. I expected there would be some trains, but there are none,” Reuters quoted Osoegawa as saying.
“I’ve never seen all the trains stop before,” Osoegawa said.
Authorities have issued evacuation advisories to over 4 million people nationwide, primarily in the heavily affected Kyushu region but extending to Tokyo and Yokohama.
Production units, airlines, trains affected
As a result of the storm, Toyota halted operations at all its domestic plants. Other companies, such as Nissan, Honda, Renesas, Tokyo Electron, and Sony, also paused production at some facilities.
Reuters reported that airlines, including ANA Holdings and Japan Airlines, cancelled hundreds of domestic and international flights. Many ferry and rail services, including the bullet train between Tokyo and Nagoya, were also suspended.
3 fatalities, 78 injuries
The country’s disaster management agency reported at least three fatalities and 78 injuries due to the storm in recent days. In addition, 125,000 households across seven districts in Kyushu have been without electricity.
After Kyushu, Typhoon Shanshan is expected to reach the central and eastern regions, including Tokyo, over two to three days. The storm follows Typhoon Ampil, which also caused blackouts and evacuations in August 2024, Reuters reported.