WEB DESK
A powerful typhoon bringing strong winds and heavy rain grounded hundreds of flights and halted train services after it made landfall in southern Kyushu, Shikoku and later in Hyogo Prefecture on Sunday, authorities said.
Typhoon Talim hit the city of Minami-kyushu, Kagoshima Prefecture, around 11:30 a.m. and is expected to affect much of western Japan, with rough weather being felt across wide areas of the country.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said Typhoon Talim made a landfall in Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s four main islands, packing winds of up to 162 kilometres per hour.
According to public broadcaster NHK, at least 644 domestic flights have been cancelled because of strong winds, while all major regional train services have been suspended.
Authorities have issued warnings of rainstorms, high seas, possible landslides and flooding across the southern half of the Japanese archipelago.
The meteorological agency said the typhoon was expected to head northwards, dumping heavy rain across a large area, including on Tokyo. The typhoon had earlier battered the southern Okinawan island chain, dumping the most rain seen over a 24-hour period in 50 years on the city of Miyako, before it hit Kyushu.