Typhoon No. 4 pierces through Kyushu, causes 39 injuries, 1 casualty, 12 landslides

The super typhoon Typhoon No. 4 (international name: Man-Yi) made landfall on Kyushu around 2 p.m. Japan time, Saturday, bringing copious rainfall, forcing the evacuation of over 8000 people, injuring 39 and killing one young boy, officials and news reports said. The typhoon was as of Saturday 5:00 p.m. 40 km east-northeast of Miyazaki city, heading northeast at a speed of 35 km towards Shikoku’s southern shoreline.

The typhoon pierced through the Osumi peninsula in Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, sustaining winds at speeds up to 157 km per hour. Japan’s Meteorological Agency had previously warned that it was one of the largest typhoons ever observed at this time of year and had urged people to prepare for its approach. The agency’s measurements at the time of landfall show that this is the strongest typhoon measured in July since 1951, with an inner pressure of 945 hectopascal.

17,397 people were under the day recommended to evacuate, while 8,424 evacuated voluntarily . The Asahi Shimbun reported a total 14 buildings had been partially destroyed, and 132 had been flooded. The Shikoku Shimbun reported at 7 p.m. that one primary schooler who fell into the Kinoshita river in Kagoshima Prefecture had died of heart-lung arrest. At 11 a.m. today, 39 people had been reported injured mostly due to strong winds.

Landslides have occured on 12 different places throughout the affected prefectures, but local meteorological observatories are warning that the danger is not over yet and that there is a risk for further landslides as rainfall is still heavy, at times pouring down at a rate higher than 5 cm per hour in some areas.

46,600 households were still without electricity in Okinawa Prefecture and on the Amami islands, while an additional 800 households in Miyazaki Prefecture, got their power cut.

Airlines have so far canceled more than 544 flights to and from Okinawa, Kyushu and some parts of southern Honshu.

Typhoon was on Saturday 5:00 P.M ca 40 km east-northeast of Miyazaki city, moving at a speed of 35 km in the direction northeast, closing in on Shikoku’s southern shoreline. The typhoon is then expected to move northeast and eventually pass through the Izu islands just south of the Kanto (Tokyo-Yokohama) area.