TOKYO — A strong storm lashed southern Japan with torrential rain and strong winds Thursday, causing at least three deaths as it started a crawl up the length of the archipelago and raised concerns of flooding, landslides and extensive damage.
Tropical storm Shanshan made landfall Thursday morning as a powerful typhoon on the southern island of Kyushu and then gradually lost strength, though it was still forecast to bring strong winds, high waves and significant rainfall to most of the country, particularly on Kyushu.
About 60 centimeters (nearly 2 feet) of rain fell in parts of Miyazaki prefecture on Kyushu, swelling rivers and threatening floods, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. That 24-hour total was more than the average rainfall for all of August, it said.
By late afternoon Thursday, the storm was moving north at 15 kph (9 mph) and its winds had weakened to 108 kph (67 mph). It is ''no longer a powerful typhoon,'' the agency said.
As disaster risks in the Kyushu region subsided later Thursday, Shanshan started dumping heavy rain on neighboring Shikoku island.
The storm ripped through downtown Miyazaki city on Kyushu, knocking down trees, throwing cars to the side in parking lots and shattering windows of some buildings. The prefectural disaster management task force said about 50 buildings were damaged.
NHK public television showed a swollen river in the popular hot spring town of Yufu in Oita prefecture, just north of Miyazaki, with muddy water splashing against a bridge.
More than 70 people were injured across Kyushu, mostly in Miyazaki and Kagoshima. Some were injured by being thrown to the ground by the storm on their way to shelters, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.
