Typhoon Shanshan Strikes Japan, Causing Extensive Damage

Seven people have died as a result of Tropical Typhoon Shanshan, which weakened from a typhoon and caused widespread damage when it struck the Pacific coast of central Japan on Sunday. The Japan Meteorological Agency continued to warn of landslides, floods, and rising river levels in western and eastern Japan, noting increased risks due to the ground’s weakened stability from unprecedented heavy rains that began when the storm hit the southern coast on Thursday.

The agency reported that on Japan’s eastern Pacific coast, unstable weather conditions caused by rain clouds around the tropical typhoon and warm air flows from a high-pressure system in the Pacific led to heavy rains and thunderstorms. According to Kyodo News, the seventh fatality from Typhoon Shanshan was recorded in Fukuoka in southwestern Japan on Sunday. Before that, the typhoon moved eastward, causing heavy rains over large areas and leading to warnings of landslides and floods across hundreds of kilometers around the storm’s center.