Tropical Depression Shanshan soaks Japan, raising flood and landslide risks

Authorities in Japan on Saturday evening braced for the risk of landslides and floods as Shanshan, a tropical cyclone, continued its slow advance back inland, after drenching parts of the country with record rainfall over three days.

Forecasters predicted heavy rain for several more days from the storm, which made landfall Thursday as the strongest typhoon to hit Japan this year.

It packed maximum sustained winds of about 28 mph Saturday evening, according to the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center, which had downgraded Shanshan to a tropical storm Thursday and then to a depression Friday.

The weakened storm had shifted eastward early Friday, raising landslide and flood risks from overflowing rivers in more parts of the country.

The Japan Meteorological Agency on Friday issued flood and landslide warnings in two dozen prefectures, including Tokyo and some as far as Iwate, in the country’s northeast. Officials also warned of high waves and tides in coastal areas, and the potential for lightning strikes and tornadoes.

Officials on Saturday said heavy rain was expected to douse eastern and northern Japan into early next week.

The storm weakened as it moved northeast toward Osaka, roughly in the center of Japan, before dissipating into a tropical depression.

Shanshan has brought nearly 3 feet of rain to parts of Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s main islands. The city of Odawara, southwest of Tokyo, received about a foot of rain Thursday, nearly double the average for the entire month of August, meteorologists said.

A landslide buried a home southwest of Tokyo on Tuesday, and streets and farmland were flooded in many parts of Japan. Strong winds from the storm brought down trees in Tokyo and in parts of Kyushu, where some buildings were badly damaged. Officials said that about 180 homes had been damaged by flooding and water from the storm.

The storm has left at least six people dead and injured more than 120 others, Japan’s Cabinet Office said Saturday. One person was missing and more than 1 million people were under evacuation orders Saturday, the office said.

More than 1,000 people were using evacuation shelters, the office said, and in Kyushu, more than 42,000 households were without power Saturday. By early Sunday, power had been restored to most households.

Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways canceled many flights that had been scheduled for Friday at dozens of airports along the storm’s path. Both airlines had largely returned to normal operations early Sunday.

Service on Shinkansen bullet-train routes was restored Sunday after days of suspensions in most of Kyushu.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

© 2024 The New York Times Company