Southwest Japan On Highest Alert
A powerful typhoon, possibly the strongest in decades, is battering Japan's southwest.
Typhoon Haishen is expected to draw very close to the southern main island of Kyushu through Monday morning. Authorities are calling on people to stay on the highest alert and evacuate promptly if advised to do so.
Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo said, "We are expecting record-breaking heavy rains, violent winds, high waves and a storm surge across wide areas. People need to be on the highest alert."
Weather officials say that at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Typhoon Haishen was 70 kilometers west of Yakushima Island in the Pacific.
Heavy rain is falling not only in the typhoon's path, but across wide areas of Japan, including those far from the storm. Authorities are warning of landslides, swollen rivers and flooding in low-lying areas.
Officials in several prefectures in the Kyushu region have issued evacuation orders to local residents.
Over 47,000 households in Okinawa and Kagoshima prefectures had no power on Sunday evening.
More than 550 domestic flights were canceled on Sunday. Most were to and from southern Kyushu and Okinawa.
Another 555 domestic flights are set to be canceled on Monday. These include flights to and from the Shikoku and Chugoku regions, as well as Kyushu.
The operator of the Kyushu Shinkansen line says all trains will be canceled on Monday. Some trains of the Sanyo Shinkansen line to Hiroshima and Osaka will also be canceled.
