Typhoon Malakas ripped through southern Japan on Tuesday, dumping torrential rain and causing widespread flooding.
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Typhoon Malakas forced cancellation of hundreds of flights on Tuesday, as well as evacuation warnings along with heavy rains in Japan.
The Malakas, the 14th typhoon to struck the country in 2016, made landfall in the southern Wakayama Prefecture in the afternoon, the NHK broadcaster said.
Television footage from public broadcaster NHK showed houses, cars and fields partly submerged in muddy brown water in Miyazaki prefecture, where a record 578 millimetres of rain fell on one city in just 24 hours.
Typhoon Malakas swept across the southern part of Kyushu island early Tuesday morning before heading east along Japan’s Pacific coast toward central Japan and Tokyo.
Five people were reported injured, none seriously, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
According to Japan Meteorological Agency, the typhoon, with wind speed of 180 kmh, made landfall in Kyushu, Japan’s southernmost main island, right after midnight (11pm on Monday according to Singapore time).
In six prefectures in western Japan including Kumamoto, which is still recovering from strong earthquakes that hit the region earlier this year, evacuation advisories were issued for about 632,500 people, Jiji news agency said.
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In late August, Typhoon Lionrock battered northeastern Japan, leaving more than 20 dead.
