Typhoon Shanshan brought heavy rain and strong winds to Japan on Friday, causing floods and landslide warnings. It hit Kyushu, one of the worst-hit areas, on Thursday, leading to travel disruptions and factory shutdowns.
In Fukuoka, Kyushu, people took shelter as the storm got stronger. A university student, Kokoro Osoegawa, 21, was stuck at a shopping mall because the trains stopped running. She said she had never seen all the trains stop before.
The storm caused at least three deaths and 78 injuries. The strong winds, reaching up to 180 km/h (112 mph), caused power outages for 125,000 homes in Kyushu. Authorities told over 4 million people across Japan, including in Tokyo and Yokohama, to evacuate. However, only about 30,000 people, mostly in Kyushu, left their homes by Thursday.
As the typhoon moved from Kyushu, it was expected to hit central and eastern Japan, including Tokyo, over the weekend. Big companies like Toyota, Nissan, and Sony stopped work at some of their factories. Airlines canceled many flights, and ferry and train services, including the bullet train between Tokyo and Nagoya, were halted.
Tourists also faced problems, like Lin Yue-Hua from Taiwan, who couldn’t find another flight after hers was canceled. Typhoon Shanshan came shortly after Typhoon Ampil, which also caused problems earlier in the month.