Support truly
independent journalism
Watch live as Typhoon Shanshan makes landfall in southwestern Japan on Thursday 29 August.
The storm brought heavy rain and very strong winds to the Kagoshima prefecture, on the southern tip of Kyushu island, knocking out power supply for over a quarter million households and injuring dozens of people.
The typhoon, categorised as “strong” with gusts of up to 60 metres per second (123mph), made landfall near Satsumasendai city on Thursday morning, the weather agency said.
Authorities warned the storm could be one of the strongest ever to hit the region, and local governments have issued evacuation orders for millions of residents in several prefectures.
One person is missing and 39 people are injured in Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures, public broadcaster NHK reported.
Footage from NHK showed walls torn and window glass of buildings broken in Miyazaki, apparently by wind gusts, with objects scattered on the street or hanging from utility poles.
More than 250,000 households in seven prefectures are experiencing power outage as of 9:00am local time on Thursday (00:00 GMT), according to Kyushu Electric Power Co.
