Japan's southern regions are bracing for the second typhoon in a week. Seven prefectures have ordered mass evacuations, but the movement of people is being hampered by coronavirus distancing measures.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Images/M. Nakashima
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More than 7 million people were advised to evacuate on Sunday as Typhoon Haishen battered Japan's southern mainland.
Late Sunday night, the southern island of Kyushu was bracing for the full force of the powerful typhoon.
"This typhoon is headed toward and may potentially make landfall in Kyushu, bringing record rains, winds, waves and high tides," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a meeting with cabinet ministers. "I am asking that people exercise the utmost caution."
Winds were expected to reach 216 kilometers per hour (134 miles per hour). The village of Tokara in Kagoshima prefecture received 71 millimeters (2.8 inches) of rain in just one hour. Rainfall of up to 500 millimeters was forecast for southern Kyushu, leading to possible landslides.
A satellite image shows the full force of Typhoon Haishen barreling toward the main southwestern island of KyushuImage: picture-alliance/AP Photo/NASA
The typhoon has cut power to at least 180,000 homes, and forced public transport to halt.
At least 13 people were injured on Kyushu ahead of the main arrival, according to Kyodo News.
Millions ordered to leave homes
People in areas across seven southern prefectures were urged to evacuate, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Some 1.8 million people were ordered to leave immediately and 5.6 million were issued lower-level advisories to evacuate.
Cyclones, typhoons, hurricanes - the power of devastation
Cyclones, typhoons and hurricanes pack a devastating punch: wherever they go, they leave a trail of destruction. But how do these powerful tropical storms arise?
Image: AFP/D. Sarkar
Social distancing impossible during Cyclone Amphan
Residents along Bangladesh's coast are being moved to safety as one of the strongest cyclones in years strikes the region. Millions of people had to be evacuated from low-lying regions along the Bay of Bengal on May 19. But plans are complicated by the coronavirus precautions. Maintaining social distancing is nearly impossible.
Image: AFP/District Administration of Bhola
Typhoon season amid the COVID-19 pandemic
On May 14, Typhoon Vongfong slammed the Philippines with strong winds and heavy rains, destroying the city of San Policarpo in the eastern province of Samar. At least five people died and more than 91,000 people were forced to leave their homes. Typhoons are not unusual in the Philippines at this time of year. But the COVID-19 outbreak lockdown measures are exacerbating the situation.
Image: AFP/A. Beronio
Three names - one phenomenon
Hurricane, typhoon, and cyclone are actually three names for the same phenomenon. Along the North American coast they are called hurricanes, in East and Southeast Asia they are called typhoons, and near India and Australia they are called cyclones. But despite the different names, they develop in the same way.
Image: Reuters
A cyclone is created
Tropical storms develop over oceans when the water temperature is at least 26 degrees Celsius (79 degrees Fahrenheit). As the warm water evaporates and condenses, the air around it heats up and drags cooler air upwards, creating powerful winds.
The eye of the storm
The Earth's rotation causes the air stream to move around the eye of the storm, which can be up to 50 kilometers wide. This area is nearly completely free of clouds and wind.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
A storm hits land
When a tropical storm hits a coastline, it becomes weaker due to the lack of warm water. In Australia, "Marcia" was soon downgraded to a category one storm, while "Lam" weakened after striking near Brisbane. Masses of water from the sea often cause the worst damage - as seen here in China after Typhoon Nanmadol in August 2011.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Chaos ensues
Hurricane Sandy was one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded over the Atlantic Ocean. It caused waves of up to 4 meters high, fires, power outages and broken dykes. Sandy arrived with winds at speeds of more than 145 kilometers per hour. Cuba, New York and New Jersey were particularly affected.
Image: Reuters
Destructive vortex
Tornadoes however, are non-tropical whirlwinds that can occur anywhere a storm is brewing. Local temperature differences force warm air upwards and cold air down, and a column of warm air rotates upwards at an increasing velocity. Tornadoes are usually only a maximum of 1 kilometer in diameter.
Fastest storms
As the warm air rises, it forms a funnel, the main characteristic of a tornado. Inside the funnel, the speed of the air can be tremendous - up to 500 kilometers per hour. Tornadoes are the fastest whirlwind type of weather phenomenon.
Image: Fotolia/Daniel Loretto
Trail of destruction
A tornado can leave a trail of destruction several kilometers long. In the US Midwest, tornadoes occur several hundred times a year, as dry, cold air from the north hits damp, warm air from the Gulf of Mexico. It's different in other countries - in Germany, for example, tornadoes occasionally occur along the coast.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
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Efforts were hampered by coronavirus social distancing, with some centers forced to turn people away.
More than 580 flights from the island of Okinawa and southern Japan have been canceled for Monday following similar cancellations on Sunday, according to NHK, while bullet train services in southern and western Japan were suspended.
The storm was expected to move north, then leave the western coast of Kyushu and reach the Korean Peninsula by Monday morning.
Haishen, equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane, is the second typhoon to hit southern Japan within a week, after Typhoon Maysak passed near Kyushu and Okinawa, injuring dozens of people.
