Typhoon Shanshan has left a heartbreaking trail in Japan, taking six lives and leaving communities shattered as it moved eastward on Saturday. The storm’s relentless force has torn through towns, triggering landslides and flood warnings far beyond its center.
In the wake of Shanshan, homes lie in ruins, their roofs ripped apart. Cars are struggling through flooded streets in southwestern Japan, where people are battling the chaos unleashed by record rainfall after the storm made landfall in Kyushu on Thursday.
The human toll is devastating. One person remains missing, and over 100 are injured. More than 35,000 homes in Kagoshima prefecture are without power, leaving families in darkness and fear.
Even as the storm was downgraded to a tropical storm on Friday, its wrath continued. By early afternoon, the storm’s center was about 480 km (300 miles) southwest of Tokyo, but its impact reached as far as Hokkaido, with heavy rain and winds of up to 90 kph (55 mph) battering the region.
Authorities have been racing to issue warnings for floods and landslides across Japan. Air and rail services have come to a standstill, factories have closed, and communities are bracing for more as the storm threatens to bring further heavy rain, despite its expected weakening.
