More than 600,000 people have been evacuated as powerful typhoon Malakas hits Japan on Tuesday morning, bringing torrential rainfall which triggered severe flooding.
Public broadcaster, NHK, reported 106 flights have been cancelled due to extreme weather conditions. Official warnings of high waves, strong winds, possible landslides and severe flooding have also been issued.
Television footage from the broadcaster shows partly submerged paddy fields and residential areas in Kyushu island's Miyazaki prefecture, which recorded a maximum downpour of 578 millimetres in 24 hours. However, there is no record of any injury or death till now.
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). The storm is likely to move along Japan's pacific coast in the north-east towards the capital city of Tokyo.
Typhoon Malakas is expected to downgrade into depression and go out into the Pacific Ocean by 9am on Wednesday, said the agency.
On the other hand, China government issued a yellow alert for Typhoon Malakas on 17 September, just after the southeastern provinces experienced super Typhoon Meranti, which killed at least 14 people in the country. The National Meteorological Center said Malakas will be the 16th storm of this year's typhoon season and advised the ships to stay out of the sea.
In August, more than 15 people died when Typhoon Lionrock ripped into the island nation. The storm hit northern Japan on 30August evening, dumping heavy rainfall that led to flooding and triggered power outages.
Prior to Lionrock, two more typhoons called Mindulle and Kompasu struck Japan back-to-back. The storms dumped heavy rainfall causing floods in several parts of the country and killed at least 2 people.
