Japan urges 1 million to evacuate as lumbering Typhoon Shanshan threatens south with up to a meter of rain

CNN —

More than 1 million people in southern Japan have been urged to evacuate as Typhoon Shanshan made landfall Thursday, leaving thousands of residents without power and lashing Kyushu island with gusty winds, torrential rain and dangerous storm surges.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a rare emergency warning for the storm, saying the typhoon was expected to bring damaging flooding and landslides to most of Kyushu, the country’s southernmost main island.

The center of the storm is now about 70 kilometers (40 miles) north of the city of Kagoshima after hitting the mainland with windspeeds of up to 185 kph (115 mph).

High waves are observed along the shore as Typhoon Shanshan approaches southwestern Japan in Ibusuki, Kagoshima prefecture, on August 28, 2024.

Shanshan weakened ahead of landfall on Thursday but it’s dumping huge amount of rain onto the island as it crawls north at 13 kph (8 mph). Slower storms can be more destructive, with strong gusts or rainstorms that pound the same areas for hours or days.

Already, rainfall has reached 0.5 meters (20 inches) in many areas and forecasters say totals could reach as high as 1 meter (40 inches) across some isolated and hilly regions.

More than 255,150 households on Kyushu were without power Thursday morning, according to Kyushu Electric Power.

Pedestrians holding umbrellas struggle against strong wind and heavy rains caused by Typhoon Shanshan in Kagoshima on August 28, 2024.

And Japan’s two largest carriers, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways (ANA), announced more than 400 flight cancellations ahead of the storm.

Shanshan is expected to turn to the east and move through Kyushu, weakening to a tropical storm by the end of Thursday.

It will continue to