Japan hit by the strongest typhoon in 25 years

The strongest typhoon, named Jebi, hit Japan in 25 years battered the west of the country on Tuesday, September 4 with violent winds and heavy rain. The country’s meteorological agency has said that large area of Japan should be on high alert for strong gusts, high waves and heavy downpours. At least nine people have been killed and over 150 people are injured.

In Osaka Bay it swept a tanker into a bridge and in Kyoto parts of a railway station roof came down.

Officials ordered more than a million people in affected areas to evacuate their homes amid warnings of high waves, flooding and mudslides. It has already left tens of thousands without power and authorities have urged people to move to safety.

The storm made landfall on Shikoku Island around noon on Tuesday local time and then moved across Japan’s largest main island of Honshu. It is expected to weaken as it moves north.

Jebi is the first typhoon classed as ‘very strong’ by the country’s weather agency to make landfall on Japan’s main islands since a typhoon left 48 people dead or missing in 1993, Kyodo reports.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe convened an emergency meeting and called on people “to take action to protect your lives, including preparing and evacuating early”.

Japan’s weather agency has warned of possible landslides, flooding and violent winds, as well as high tides, lightning and tornadoes in the areas affected.