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Japan issues typhoon warning as strong tropical storm approaches

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued a special typhoon warning on Saturday for Kagoshima prefecture on Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s main islands, as the region braces for a powerful and potentially destructive super typhoon.

The warning came after the weather agency urged residents to evacuate parts of Kyushu ahead of Typhoon Nanmadol, which is expected to bring up to half a meter of rain when it hits the coast on Sunday.

Nanmadol, classified as a super typhoon by the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center, has the potential to be the most destructive tropical storm to hit Japan in decades.

The 14th typhoon of the season was near the island of Minami-Daito in southern Japan, heading northwest at 20 km/h on Saturday afternoon. Winds in the center of the storm were blowing at 198 km/h and gusts of up to 270 km/h, according to the JMA.

“Unprecedented” storms and rain could hit the area, Ryuta Kurora, a JMA official, told a televised news conference, urging residents to evacuate before dark.

Southern Kyushu could receive 500 millimeters of rain on Sunday, while central Tokai could receive 300 millimeters, according to the agency’s forecast.

The special typhoon alert would be the first alert of its kind for any prefecture north of the Okinawa island chain, state media reported.

Operator Kyushu Railway Co began shutting down some train lines on Saturday, ahead of wider suspensions on Sunday. Hundreds of weekend flights in the southern region were being cancelled, broadcaster NHK reported, causing confusion among passengers traveling over the long weekend.

Convenience store chain Seven-Eleven Japan would temporarily close about 610 stores in the Kyushu and Chugoku regions as of Saturday night, local media reported.

The storm was expected to curve eastward and pass through Tokyo on Tuesday, before moving out to sea on Wednesday.

Local broadcasters aired images of strong winds and rain already hitting the island chain of Okinawa in southern Japan as the storm approached.

Source: CNN Brasil

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