Typhoon 'Sansan' Moves Northward to Central Honshu, Japan... Localized Heavy Rain Forecasted

Typhoon No. 10 "Sansan," which recorded record-breaking heavy rain across Japan, is expected to move northward toward the central region of Honshu. Although the typhoon's intensity has weakened, localized heavy rain is forecasted.

On the 29th, broken roof tiles and debris are scattered on the streets of Miyazaki, Kyushu, Japan, hit hard by Typhoon SanSan, the 10th typhoon of the season. The super typhoon SanSan is expected to pass through the Japanese archipelago.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to Japan's public broadcaster NHK on the 1st, as of 6 a.m., Typhoon Sansan is located in the sea area near Aichi Prefecture in central Honshu. The central pressure of the typhoon is 998 hPa (hectopascal), with a maximum wind speed near the center of 18 m/s and a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 25 m/s. This is weaker compared to when it made landfall in Kyushu on the 29th of last month.

The Japan Meteorological Agency expects the typhoon to slowly move northward toward Honshu and transform into a tropical depression the following day, but it forecasts heavy rain in the central and western parts of Honshu. This is due to the still unstable atmospheric conditions. The agency predicts up to 200 mm of rain in the Tokai region, where Nagoya is located, up to 150 mm in the Kinki region centered around Osaka, and up to 120 mm in Tokyo and surrounding areas by the next day.

Typhoon Sansan brought 640 mm of rain over 72 hours until 8 a.m. on the same day in Atami City, central Honshu, which is three times the average rainfall for August. The rainfall in the Ebina area of Kanagawa Prefecture near Tokyo was 439.5 mm during the same period. The human casualties caused by Typhoon Sansan have been tallied at 6 dead, 1 missing, and 127 injured. In areas such as Gifu Prefecture and Mie Prefecture, evacuation orders were issued to residents due to river flooding. In Miyazaki City, southern Kyushu's Miyazaki Prefecture, about 860 houses were damaged.

The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that Typhoon Sansan is expected to affect the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election scheduled for the 27th. Shigeru Ishiba, former LDP secretary-general and a candidate for the leadership election, canceled a lecture planned in Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture, on the same day. Digital Minister Taro Kono postponed a policy announcement event scheduled for the next day to the 5th, and former Minister in charge of Economic Security Takayuki Kobayashi also postponed a visit to the grave of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe planned for the previous day.