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Millions informed to leave as tropical cyclone pummels Japan

Countless people were ordered to evacuate their homes as Typhoon Shanshan lashed southwest Japan with strong winds and downpour on Thursday, knocking out power, snarling air traffic and forcing major factories to close.

At least 3 people have actually been killed up until now and scores injured in what authorities have actually alerted might be among the strongest ever storms to hit the area.

Toyota suspended operations in all of its domestic plants due to the storm, while other car manufacturers Nissan and Honda, and semiconductor firms Renesas, Tokyo Electron and Rohm, likewise momentarily halted production at some factories.

Funeral parlour employee Tomoki Maeda remained in a hearse when the typhoon struck in Miyazaki city in southern Kyushu, shattering windows and taking down power lines and the walls of some structures.

I have actually never ever experienced such a strong wind or tornado in my 31 years of life, Maeda informed Reuters.

Bringing gusts of around 50 metres per 2nd (180 km per hour/112 mph), strong enough to blow over moving trucks, the hurricane was near Unzen city in Nagasaki Prefecture at 3:00 p.m. ( 0600 GMT) and moving northwards, according to the weather condition agency.

More than 200,000 households in seven prefectures were without power in the afternoon, according to Kyushu Electric Power Co. The utility previously stated there was no impact at its Sendai Nuclear Power Plant in Satsumasendai city, where the storm made landfall previously on Thursday.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi informed a press conference that 3 people had actually passed away and one was missing in incidents related to the typhoon, while the catastrophe management agency stated 45 had suffered injuries.

After hovering over Kyushu for the next few days, the storm was anticipated to approach the central and eastern regions, including the capital Tokyo, around the weekend, the weather condition agency stated. More than 5.2 million people have been provided evacuation notices throughout the nation, authorities said, primarily in Kyushu but also in some areas of central Japan, which have actually been struck by heavy rain that triggered a landslide on Wednesday.

Madoka Kubo, who runs a hotel in the historical, riverside city of Hitoyoshi in Kumamoto prefecture, informed Reuters that all her appointments had actually been cancelled and she was now housing senior individuals who had actually been left from close-by areas.

Airline companies, including ANA Holdings and Japan Airlines , have actually already revealed cancellations of almost 800 flights. Train services have been suspended in many areas of Kyushu, while numerous bus and ferry services have also been halted, according to the transportation ministry.

Tropical cyclone Shanshan is the current harsh weather system to hit Japan, following Typhoon Ampil, which also caused blackouts and evacuations, earlier this month.

(source: Reuters)