Typhoon Shanshan has killed at least three people and injured about 40 as it barrels through Japan, with more than 250,000 homes left without power.
At the time of writing, 24-hour rainfall totals have reached 300-400mm across swaths of Miyazaki, in the Kyushu region. Up to 630mm of rain has been recorded at one site near Shiiba after about 500mm fell since midnight on Thursday.
The rainfall in one area over a two-day period was equivalent to 50-55% of the average rainfall in the UK across an entire year. Within an hour, some parts of Japan received 50-80mm of rain.
The storm erupted in the north Pacific Ocean last week and propagated north-westwards towards Japan at the weekend, strengthening as it did so. By Monday evening, it had developed into a very strong typhoon with sustained winds in excess of 97mph (156km/h).
Shanshan peaked during the early hours of Wednesday with 130mph gusts. Fortunately this was short-lived and the winds eased as the typhoon churned towards the south of Japan, weakening to about 90mph as it made landfall in Kagoshima prefecture at about 8am local time on Thursday.
Severe gusts of up to 157mph have been recorded, throwing debris in the air and ripping tiles off roofs. With the worst of the damage done, Shanshan is projected to travel north-east, traversing Japan and reducing in strength as it does so. Forecast models indicate southern parts of the country could face a further 100-200mm of rainfall over the weekend before the storm dissipates, with a risk of life-threatening floods and landslides.
Meanwhile, in the UK, storm names for 2024-25 have been released. The season starts in conjunction with meteorological autumn, and 2024 marks the 10th year since the Met Office began naming storms. Storms are named in partnership with Met Éireann, the meteorological service in Ireland, and KNMI, the Dutch national weather service.
The Met Office names are a nod to its 170-year history and include James, Lewis and Mavis. The former chief forecaster Capt James Stagg, who produced the weather report that delayed the D-day landings to 6 June, is credited with having written the most important forecast the Met Office has issued.
Storms Lewis and Mavis will pay tribute to Lewis Fry Richardson, who established the mathematical techniques required for weather forecasting, and Mavis Hinds, who pioneered the use of computers within meteorology.
Source: theguardian.com
