“Unprecedented” Super Typhoon Nears Southern Japan As Officials Urge Evacuations

A “violent typhoon” named Nanmadol is approaching Japan’s south, with landfall expected Sunday afternoon. 

Nanmadol, the 14th typhoon of the season, is about 280 miles east of Okinawa, a southern Japanese archipelago (as of Saturday morning), according to Japan Meteorological Agency. 

JMA said Nanmadol is heading northwest at 12 mph with sustained winds around 123 mph near its center, gusting upwards of 168 mph. It has been classified as a “super typhoon” by the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center. 

Nanmadol is forecasted to make landfall Sunday afternoon on the southern island of Kyushu — expected to dump 20 inches of rain and winds that could be equivalent in strength to a Category 5 hurricane, according to Reuters. 

A “special alert” has been issued for 13 million inhabitants on Kyushu island. JMA has urged residents to evacuate before it gets dark. This is the first special alert ever issued outside the Okinawa Prefecture.

NHK, the country’s public broadcaster, expects torrential rains and high winds could spark widespread damage. Airlines have grounded flights, and transportation officials suspended train service in the country’s southern parts. 

After Nanmadol makes landfall, it is expected to weaken slightly and become a “very strong typhoon” with winds around 112 mph. The typhoon will then head northeast and move north through central Japan towards Tokyo.

The storm’s path is forecasted to move across most of the country’s nuclear power plants. 

JMA told reporters: “There are risks of unprecedented storms, high waves, storm surges, and record rainfall.”