Tokyo, Sep 19 (EFE).- Typhoon Nanmadol has killed at least two people and injured dozens others during its path through the southern Japanese island of Kyushu, public broadcaster NHK reported on Monday.

Some 300,000 homes have also been left without power due to the tropical storm, the NHK said.

During a cabinet meeting, Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida urged ministers to reduce damages as much as possible and ensure the safety of the population.

Kishida decided to postpone his trip to New York, where he was going to attend the UN General Assembly, to monitor the situation.
Since the beginning of the storm, the Miyazaki prefecture in southern Kyushu has accumulated 1,000 millimeters of rainfall, an unprecedented level, according to NHK.

Nanmadol forced the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) on Saturday to activate for the first time the highest typhoon alert for one of the four main islands of the archipelago, an alert that is maintained by violent wind, torrential rainfall and high waves that the JMA considers to be unprecedented.

Authorities are also recommending residents of the most affected areas, especially Kyushu, take shelter in safe places – elevated above the ground, with solid construction – or go to evacuation centers.

Residents of the areas where the storm is approaching have been asked to stay inside their homes.

The storm has already forced the cancellation of more than 700 flights scheduled for Monday, and bullet train services are widely suspended.

The JMA predicts that throughout Monday the typhoon will move in a northeasterly direction over the prefectures of Yamaguchi and Tottori in Honshu, and that it will travel through much of the western Japanese coast during the night. EFE
asb/tw-smq/mp