Typhoon Khanun brings heavy rain to southeast Japan, halts shinkansen
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the slow-traveling typhoon could cause mudslides, floods and strong winds while linear rainbands, known to bring torrential downpours, could develop in southern and northern Kyushu as well as Amami-Oshima Island after the neighboring Tanegashima and Yakushima islands, off the southern tip of Kyushu, are affected.
Regions spanning western through eastern Japan on the Pacific coast are on track to receive record-breaking rainfall for August, the agency added.
Among the halted railway operations were Kyushu Shinkansen services between Kumamoto and Kagoshima-Chuo stations as well as Nishi Kyushu Shinkansen services between Takeo-Onsen and Nagasaki stations.
The Sanyo Shinkansen line will suspend the start of operations on Thursday from the first train until 8 a.m. between Hiroshima and Kokura stations for post-typhoon damage inspections.
According to Kyushu Electric Power Co., about 17,630 households in Kumamoto, Oita, Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures were affected by power outages as of 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
As of 2 p.m., Typhoon Khanun was located roughly 140 kilometers west of Makurazaki, with an atmospheric pressure of 975 hectopascals at its center and packing winds of up to 144 km per hour, according to the weather agency.
Rainfall of up to 300 mm is expected in northern and southern Kyushu, as well as the island of Shikoku over the 24 hours through 12 p.m. Thursday.
