Typhoon No. 6 Heads North off Southern Japan; Kyushu on High Alert

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:01 JST, August 8, 2023

Typhoon No. 6 was headed north near Kagoshima Prefecture Tuesday, with strong winds and rainfall expected to continue through Thursday in Kyushu due to the cyclone’s relatively slow pace, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, the powerful storm was moving north-northwest about 120 kilometers south of Yakushima Island in the prefecture, with an atmospheric pressure of 970 hectopascals and a top wind speed of 30 meters per second.

The typhoon was expected to travel north off Kyushu’s western coast through Thursday, the JMA said.

The agency has called for residents to be on high alert in northern and southern Kyushu and Amami in the prefecture, due to concerns over of a linear precipitation band that could dump heavy rains in a short period through Wednesday.

According to the JMA, maximum expected rainfalls for the 24 hours to 6 a.m. Wednesday were expected to reach 400 milliliters in southern Kyushu, 300 milliliters in the Amami, 250 milliliters in northern Kyushu and Shikoku, and 200 milliliters in Tokai.

The tempest has disrupted public transportation systems, too. As of Tuesday morning, a total of 164 flights, including those connecting Kagoshima Airport and Haneda Airport, had been canceled, according to Japan Airlines Co. and All Nippon Airways Co.