Typhoon Talim slams into southwestern Japan

September 17, 2017

TOKYO- Large-scale Typhoon Talim slammed into southwestern Japan on Sunday, bringing heavy rain and strong winds.

The typhoon, the 18th of the year, made landfall near Minamikyushu, Kagoshima Prefecture, on Japan's southwestern main island of Kyushu around 11:30 a.m. (2:30 a.m. GMT).

It is forecast to travel across the Shikoku and Kinki western regions toward the Hokuriku central region, before heading north on Monday on or off the Sea of Japan coast of the Tohoku northeastern region and Hokkaido, northernmost Japan.

With a front located south of Shikoku and the Honshu main land expected to move north and become active, the Japan Meteorological Agency warned of heavy rain, stormy winds and high waves.

In Saiki, Oita Prefecture, about 110 millimeters of rain fell in the hour to 9 a.m., authorities said. Cumulative rainfall totaled 567.5 millimeters in the 48 hours to 11 a.m. in the city of Miyazaki.

A maximum instantaneous wind speed of 38.6 meters was recorded on Kagoshima's Tanegashima Island around 11:45 a.m.

Landslide warnings and evacuation advisories were issued in parts of Oita, Miyazaki, Kumamoto, Kagoshima and Ehime prefectures. The typhoon hit Japan during the three-day weekend through Monday.

Kyushu Railway Co., or JR Kyushu, suspended all local trains in its service area and the high-speed train service between Kumamoto and Kagoshima-chuo stations on the Kyushu Shinkansen Line. Shikoku Railway Co. or JR Shikoku, plans to halt service on many lines.

All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines canceled a number of flights using airports in western Japan.

As of noon, the typhoon was traveling northeast near the city of Kagoshima at a speed of 30 kilometers per hour.

With an atmospheric pressure of 975 hectopascals at its center, the typhoon had a maximum sustained wind speed of 30 meters per second and a maximum instantaneous wind velocity of 45 meters around the center. Wind speeds were 25 meters or over within 190 kilometers of the typhoon center.

Maximum 24-hour rainfall through Monday noon is forecast at 350 millimeters in Shikoku, 300 millimeters in Kinki, 250 millimeters in northern Kyushu and the Chugoku western region, 200 millimeters in the Tokai central region, Tohoku and Hokkaido, and 150 millimeters in southern Kyushu, the Kanto-Koshin eastern region and Hokuriku.

On Sunday, the maximum instantaneous wind velocity is predicted to reach 45 meters in southern and northern Kyushu, Shikoku and Chugoku, 40 meters in Kinki, 35 meters in Hokuriku and Tokai, and 30 meters in Kanto-Koshin, Tohoku and Hokkaido. Jiji Press