Typhoon Hinnamnor pummels southwest Japan on way north

TOKYO, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Typhoon Hinnamnor sideswiped Japan's southwestern main island of Kyushu, with the region being pummeled by torrential downpours and gale force winds, resulting in power outages and transportation disruption, the weather agency said Tuesday.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), as of noon local time on Tuesday, after sweeping past Kyushu, the powerful typhoon was heading on a northward trajectory through the Sea of Japan.

The weather agency said Hinnamnor, which has also hammered parts of South Korea after making landfall this morning in the country's southeast, according to local accounts, was located around 280 km north-northwest of Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, moving northeast at 65 km per hour.

Hinnamnor has a central atmospheric pressure of 965 hectopascals and is packing winds of more than 126 km per hour near its center, with peak gusts reaching 180 km per hour, the JMA said.

Local officials said the Kyushu region as a result of the powerful storm has seen power knocked out across wide areas, with one man in his 70s thought to have lost his life after falling while attempting to fix his roof in Saga Prefecture.

In Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, and Kagoshima Prefectures in Japan's southwest, meanwhile, 38,000 homes lost power, while communications services were badly affected in Kyushu and the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, local officials said.

JR Kyushu has suspended its bullet train services between Hakata and Kumamoto, its operator announced, while flights to or from airports on Japan's western coast facing the Sea of Japan will be canceled as a result of the typhoon, said Japan's two top carriers Japan Airlines Co. and All Nippon Airways Co.

Weather officials and local authorities have continued to urge people to remain vigilant for violent winds, rough seas, mudslides, floods in low-lying areas, rivers breaching their banks, lightning strikes and tornadoes.

By Tuesday evening, eastern and western Japan will also experience heavy downpours and thunderstorms through Wednesday, despite the typhoon possibly being downgraded to an extratropical cyclone, the weather agency said.

Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost prefecture, could well be hit by thunderstorms and strong gusts, the JMA also said.

In the 24-hour period through noon on Wednesday, weather officials have forecast 150 mm of rain in the Shikoku and Kinki regions, and 120 mm in the Tokai area.