Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways canceled more than 500 flights scheduled to arrive or depart from airports in Japan on Sunday as Typhoon Nanmadol approaches the southwestern main island of Kyushu.
Japan Airlines canceled 282 flights scheduled to arrive or depart from airports on Sunday, mostly in Shikoku and Kyushu. Meanwhile, All Nippon Airways canceled 53 flights scheduled to arrive or depart at airports in Kagoshima, Miyazaki and elsewhere on Sunday, and four of them on Monday.
Other airlines are also canceling flights, including those scheduled to arrive or depart from Kyushu or Shikoku through Monday.
“Nearly two million people in southern Kyushu have been ordered to evacuate because a powerful typhoon, Nanmadol, is approaching the region,” Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported Saturday. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued a level 5 alert for the typhoon, which is expected to hit the Kyushu region in southern Japan.
A level 5 alert is the highest on Japan’s disaster warning scale, NHK said. “A very strong typhoon could trigger the kind of catastrophes that are only seen once every several decades,” the broadcaster reported, citing weather officials.
The officials said “maximum winds of up to 180 kilometers (112 miles) per hour will hit northern and southern Kyushu, as well as the Amami Islands, with peak gusts reaching 252 kilometers (156 miles) per hour through Sunday.” Southern Kyushu could receive up to 600 millimeters of rain in the 24-hour period through Monday morning.
The Japan Railway Group also said bullet train services are expected to be affected on Sunday and Monday.
