Three people are still missing after a landslide in Aichi prefecture, Japan, as the country grapples with the aftermath of one of its strongest typhoons in decades. Typhoon Shanshan made landfall in the country’s south-west, leaving at least four people dead and more than 80 injured. The typhoon has now weakened to a severe tropical storm, but continues to bring torrential rain and severe disruption to transport services.
More than five million people in Japan have been told to evacuate their homes, with most of the evacuation orders in place for the southern island of Kyushu. Late on Tuesday, three people from the same family were killed by a landslide in central Japan, while a fourth person died after being trapped when a house collapsed.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a rare “special warning” for the most violent storms, warning of landslides, flooding, and large-scale damage. High winds of up to 252 km/h have been reported on the island of Kyushu, where major carmakers like Toyota and Nissan have shut down their plants for safety reasons.
Hundreds of flights to and from southern Japan have been cancelled, and some high-speed train services have been suspended. The storm is expected to move across Japan over the weekend before reaching the capital Tokyo.
Typhoons in the region have been intensifying more rapidly and lasting longer over land due to climate change, according to a recent study. The impact of Typhoon Shanshan serves as a stark reminder of the devastating effects of extreme weather events on communities in Japan.
