Typhoon Nanmadol Hits Japan: 9 Million Forced to Evacuate Homes

Typhoon Nanmadol Hits Japan: One of the strongest typhoons of the season hit Japan late Sunday. 

Typhoon Nanmadol has hit the southwestern part of Japan with severe rainfall and winds. The storm officially hit land in Kagoshima, a seaside city in the southernmost part of Japan, Kyushu island, at approximately 7 p.m. local time (10:00 GMT), according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). 

With gusts of up to 234 km/h, the storm dumped up to 500 mm of rain in certain areas of southwest Kyushu in less than 24 hours (146 mph). 

More than 300,000 homes are left without electricity. As a preventive measure, tens of thousands of people spent the night at gyms and other facilities after being ordered to leave vulnerable residences. 

More than 9 million people from southern and western Japan are urged to evacuate their homes immediately.

By Wednesday, the storm is expected to go out to sea after turning east and passing over Honshu, the largest island in Japan. Heavy rains have been falling in the nation's capital, Tokyo, and flooding has forced the suspension of the Tozai subterranean line. 

Over 500,000 people in the regions of Kagoshima, Miyazaki, Oita, Kumamoto, and Yamaguchi are on a level-five alert, the highest possible catastrophe warning in Japan. Nine million individuals have been instructed to leave their houses. More than 90 people have been injured, and 2 have died. 

Nanmadol, otherwise known as typhoon number 14, struck after the country battled record-breaking rising temperatures in June that left millions of people without power in the capital Tokyo and led to a significant increase in cases of heat stroke among the frail old.

Public transport and several flights have been canceled. Over the next few days, Nanmadol is expected to proceed toward Tokyo from central Japan, retaining a significant proportion of its power.