Photo/Illutration A fallen tree blocks a sidewalk in Fukuoka’s Hakata Ward after powerful Typhoon No. 11 hit the area on Sept. 6. (Shoma Fujiwaki)

Powerful Typhoon No. 11 passed through the Tsushima Strait and neared the northern Kyushu region on the morning of Sept. 6, bringing heavy rainfall, strong winds and the threat of landslides and flooding. 

The typhoon is expected to travel north over the Sea of Japan until Sept. 7.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said a possible linear rainband could form on the morning of Sept. 6 in the northern Kyushu region and Yamaguchi Prefecture, warning residents to prepare for landslides and flooding.

The JMA said the typhoon was moving northeast at 55 kph off the northwestern coast of Shimane Prefecture as of 10 a.m. on Sept. 6.

The typhoon had an atmospheric pressure of 965 hectopascals at its center at the time with a 126 kph maximum wind velocity and 180 kph maximum instantaneous wind gusts.

After passing the Tsushima Strait, the typhoon was moving northeast over the Sea of Japan.

The typhoon is expected to weaken to an extratropical low-pressure system by the evening of Sept. 6.

Very strong winds are expected to continue in the coastal areas of the Sea of Japan on Sept. 7.

Anticipated rainfall over the 24-hour period until noon on Sept. 7 is up to 150 millimeters in Shikoku and Kinki, and 120 mm in Tokai.

If a linear rainband is formed in northern Kyushu, the rainfall will likely increase locally.

The JMA observed a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 161 kph in Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, in the early hours of Sept. 6.

In Fukuoka’s Chuo Ward, a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 119 kph was recorded.

In Nobeoka, Miyazaki Prefecture, 47 mm rainfall in an hour was reported. In Saeki, Oita Prefecture, 46 mm rainfall in an hour was recorded.

The schedules of trains and buses were disrupted by the massive storm.

Kyushu Railway Co. (JR Kyushu) and West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) suspended operations of the Kyushu Shinkansen and Sanyo Shinkansen on Sept. 6, as well as many local lines.

Nishi-Nippon Railroad Co. suspended its Tenjin-Omuta Line and express bus services for the day, as well as some local bus services in the Fukuoka and Kurume areas.

The Fukuoka City Subway temporarily halted its subway services in the morning.

According to Kyushu Electric Power Co., 38,310 households in Fukuoka, Nagasaki and Saga prefectures experienced power outages at around 5 a.m. on Sept. 6.

(This article was written by Hideki Motoyama and Ryutaro Ito.)

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