Japan urges 4 million to evacuate as lumbering Typhoon Shanshan threatens south with up to a meter of rain

CNN — 

Almost 4 million people in southern Japan were urged to evacuate as Typhoon Shanshan made landfall Thursday, leaving thousands of residents without power and lashing Kyushu island with hurricane-force winds, torrential rain and dangerous storm surges.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a rare emergency warning for the slow-moving storm, saying it was expected to bring damaging flooding and landslides to most of Kyushu, the country’s southernmost main island, with record rainfall expected.

Hundreds of flights have been canceled, bullet train services suspended and major companies like automaker Toyota have closed factories.

Japanese authorities on Thursday warned that a “life-threatening situation” was imminent for towns in Kyushu’s Oita prefecture and urged 57,000 people to take “live-saving actions” as it issued its highest typhoon alert. A Level 4 evacuation advisory, the second-highest alert, was in place for all of Kyushu, affecting 3.7 million residents.

At least one person is missing and dozens of people have been injured across the island as of Thursday morning, according to local government offices. Earlier this week, three people were killed in a landslide triggered by Shanshan’s destructive wind and rains.

Typhoon Shanshan weakened as it slowly moved north through Kyushu as the equivalent of a Category 1 Atlantic Hurricane, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). By Friday, Shanshan had weakened into a tropical storm with its center almost stationary over northeast Kyushu packing winds of 70 kph (45 mph) after hitting the mainland with windspeeds of up to 185 kph (115 mph).