Typhoon Shanshan has since made landfall in Japan’s Kyushu region early Thursday morning.
Several Japanese automakers have recently announced that they are suspending manufacturing activities in its production sites across the island, ahead of Typhoon Shanshan. Japan’s most powerful typhoon this year has since slammed into the country’s main southern island of Kyushu at around 8.00 a.m. local time on Thursday 29th of August, with it packing gusts of up to 252 km/h.
Toyota has previously announced on Wednesday that it has temporarily suspended all production operations in Japan, with the automaker stating that this decision was made in consideration of expected parts shortages and the safety of employees. All 28 production lines at its 14 plants across the island will be suspended till Thursday evening, though the company will be reevaluating this reopening timeline on Thursday morning.
Daihatsu has announced that it too will temporarily close three plants in the Kansai region, while Honda will be halting operations at its factory in Ozu, Kumamoto Prefecture from Thursday to Friday. Nissan meanwhile also plans a Thursday-Friday operation pause at its plant in Kanda, Fukuoka Prefecture, with Mazda similarly planning to suspend operations at its Hiroshima and Hofu plants for the same amount of time.
Heavy rain brought by Typhoon Shanshan has already been lashing large parts of Japan since Tuesday, with the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) predicting that an enormous 1,100 mm of precipitation will be battering the southern Kyushu region in the 48 hours to Friday morning. The JMA has since also issued its rare highest “special warning” for violent storms, waves and high tides in parts of the Kagoshima region of Kyushu, with authorities there advising over 56,000 people to evacuate.
Kyushu’s utility operator said that 254,610 houses were already without power after the typhoon made landfall in the region. Japan Airlines has cancelled 172 domestic flights and six international flights scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, while ANA nixed 219 domestic flights and four international ones for Wednesday to Friday.
A couple in their 70s and a man in his 30s have unfortunately perished due to this typhoon. Both of them part of a family of five whose home in Gamagori, a city in central Aichi prefecture, was swept away late on Tuesday. Their other two family members — two women in their 40s — were rescued after all-night recovery efforts, local broadcaster NHK reported.
The JMA expects the storm to approach Japan’s central and eastern regions, including its capital Tokyo, around the weekend. Shanshan comes in the wake of Typhoon Ampil earlier this month, which caused only minor injuries and damage but still disrupted hundreds of flights and trains.
