TOKYO (AP) — Tropical Storm Shanshan brought torrential rain to Japan's Shizuoka region, 180 kilometers (110 miles) southwest of Tokyo, on Sunday, with weather officials warning the storm could persist for several days.
Shanshan, with winds of 65 km/h (40 mph), made landfall on Thursday, leaving landslides, flooded rivers, torn branches and scattered debris in its wake. People in southwestern Japan were busy clearing muddy homes and throwing away broken appliances.
The storm has been linked to at least six deaths so far, including three people trapped in a mudslide. One person is missing and 127 people have been injured, according to Japan's public broadcaster NHK, which collates reports from local governments.
On Sunday morning, Shanshan was moving extremely slowly and barely moving, the Japan Meteorological Agency reported.
The agency said the storm caused rainfall over a wide area, even in places not on the storm's track, such as the northernmost main island of Hokkaido.
Some houses were tilted as roofs collapsed and vehicles drove through brown water.
Shanshan initially extended across the southwestern Japanese islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, then reached the main island of Honshu. At one point the river meandered through coastal waters, but later returned to land.
Landslide warnings were issued in parts of the cities of Hamamatsu and Izu in Shizuoka Prefecture and Yokohama in Kanagawa, a port city near Tokyo, as well as in high-risk areas in Tokyo. Tokyo has seen mostly cloudy skies in recent days, dotted with episodes of sudden and intense showers.
People living in areas at risk of landslides were told to evacuate to local stadiums and community centers as a precaution. The exact path of Shanshan is still uncertain. The river is expected to gradually move north and then across the Sea of Japan on Monday.
___
Yuri Kageyama is on X: https://x.com/yurikageyama
