Tokyo - KUNA
Powerful typhoon Vongfong made landfall on Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu on Monday, leaving at least one person missing and 56 others injured due to strong wind and torrential rains, authorities said.
The season's 19th typhoon, one of the largest to strike the country in years, made landfall near Makurazaki City in the Kyushu region shortly before 8:30 a.m. (2330 Sunday GMT) after passing through the islands of Okinawa, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Vongfong also damaged houses and uprooted trees in a wide area of the country. Evacuation advisories were issued for some 460,000 people.
Airlines canceled about 529 flights as of 3 p.m., mainly on domestic routes to and from airports in Kyushu and Shikoku islands, and Tokyo.
Train services in the southern Japan were also partially suspended. As of 2 p.m., the storm was located near Sukumo City, moving northeast at 40 kilometers per hour (kph) with its maximum wind velocity is 108 kph with gusts of 162 kph, the agency said.
The weather agency warned that Vongfong, named after "wasp" in Cantonese, is expected to sweep through the Japanese archipelago, including Tokyo, through Tuesday.