Kyushu island evacuates thousands as typhoon approaches

Devastating impact: (Top and below) Rescue workers conducting search and rescue operation at a landslide site caused by a heavy rain due to the approach of Typhoon Shanshan in Gamagori, Aichi prefecture. — Reuters/AFP

The country braced for its strongest typhoon of the year, with authorities advising tens of thousands of people to evacuate and issuing the highest warning level for wind and storm surges on the main southern island of Kyushu.

“Typhoon Shanshan is expected to approach southern Kyushu with extremely strong force through Thursday (today) and it may make landfall,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters yesterday.