The Japan Meteorological Agency warned on Saturday of a large and powerful typhoon that is expected to reach landfall in the southern island of Kyushu on Sunday, Reuters reported. The agency said it may issue a "special warning" for Kagoshima prefecture and the northern part of Kyushu, Japan's southernmost main island, with the possibility of high waves and heavy rains in the regions. Typhoon Nanmadol, the 14th of the season, was near Japan's southern Minami-Daito Island heading northwest at 20 km (12 miles) per hour on Saturday afternoon. The storm is forecast to curve east and pass over Tokyo on Tuesday before moving out to sea by Wednesday. Japan's weather agency said Saturday it is ready to issue a special typhoon warning for some areas in the country's southwestern region of Kyushu as an "unprecedented" storm is forecast to approach. The powerful Typhoon Nanmadol could make landfall in Kagoshima and bring record rain to the prefecture and nearby areas, with the agency calling for maximum vigilance as violent winds and high waves are expected, possibly triggering landslides and flooding. Such emergency warnings are only issued when an extraordinary natural phenomenon that occurs once in a few decades is predicted. The agency said it might issue the most serious typhoon alert as early as Saturday evening for Kagoshima and other areas in Kyushu. It would be the first such alert for Japanese prefectures apart from Okinawa. Ryuta Kurora, director of forecasts at the agency, told a press conference that the typhoon had rapidly intensified since Friday night and was "a dangerous (storm) like we have never experienced before." The slow-moving typhoon was expected to pass very close to the Amami and Kyushu regions from Saturday night to Monday, according to the agency. The agency said the typhoon, which had an atmospheric pressure of 910 hectopascals at its center, could cause linear rainbands in the regions through Sunday before moving northeast and later possibly traveling across the country's main archipelago. The typhoon, packing winds of up to 198 kilometers per hour with maximum gusts of 270 kph, is forecast to bring heavy rain to various parts of Japan during the three-day weekend through Monday. The agency said southern Kyushu could receive up to 500 millimeters of rain in the 24 hours to 6 a.m. Sunday, while the Shikoku and Tokai regions in western and central Japan could see up to 300 mm of rainfall. At a news conference on Saturday, a weather agency official referred to two previous strong storms that had a major impact on Japan's main islands — 2018's Typhoon Jebi, which hit the Kansai region and left 14 people dead, and 2019's Typhoon Hagibis, which slammed into the Kanto region near Tokyo and caused widespread power outages. The agency warned of high waves, storm surge, landslides, flooding and overflowing rivers. It said the wind could be so strong in areas like southern Kyushu that some homes would be at risk of collapse, urging residents to stay in sturdy buildings and stay away from windows. It also warned of so-called linear precipitation zones, which can bring heavy rainfall for long periods to the same areas and lead to disasters. "There is a risk that a wide area from western to northern Japan will be affected by the typhoon," the agency said in a statement released Saturday morning. — Agencies
