(UTV | JAPAN) – Nearly Two million people across Japan’s south-west have been told to evacuate their homes, while more than five million were urged to seek shelter, as powerful Typhoon Haishen skirts the country on its way to the Korean peninsula.
Another 35 people have been injured and 400,000 homes remain without power, while flights and bullet train services were suspended.
At its peak, gusts of more than 200 kilometres per hour hit Nomozaki in Nagasaki Prefecture.
On Tsushima island, situated in the Sea of Japan halfway between Kyushu and South Korea, wind speeds his 155kph.
On Monday morning, the storm system was 110 kilometres north of Tsushima and heading towards South Korea at a speed of 40kph.
The affected areas of Japan recorded hundreds of millimetres of rain over the 48 hours to Monday, with more expected over the next 24 hours.
While millions of people have been told to evacuate, it is unlikely they will all head to evacuation centres. Those close to rivers and in low-lying areas are likely to be at most risk.
So far, no rivers have exceeded flood levels.
Some evacuation centres have turned people away in order to prevent coronavirus infections.
The region is still recovering from heavy rains and flooding in July that killed 83 people.
The search for survivors from a live export ship feared lost in the East China Sea remains suspended because of the weather conditions.
Two Australians are among the 40 people still unaccounted for.