Sep 23 (NHK) - Severe tropical storm Tapah is battering parts of western and southwestern Japan. It is expected to affect most of the country through Monday.
The Meteorological Agency says Tapah will likely keep heading north-east, bringing strong winds and heavy rain to northern Kyushu, along with the Chugoku region and Ehime Prefecture.
Weather officials say over the last two days some of these areas have seen more rain than average for the entire month of September.
They are warning of strong winds, high waves, mudslides, swollen rivers and flooding.
Local power companies say as of early Monday, about 100,000 households in the Kyushu region and another 30,000 households in the Chugoku region were without power.
Tornado-like winds caused damage in the city of Nobeoka in Miyazaki Prefecture. Railway operator JR Kyushu says a steel tower at Nobeoka Station toppled over. Windows were reportedly broken in the city.
Officials say two people have been injured.
The storm forced the cancelation of about 500 domestic flights on Sunday. Airlines have already suspended 50 flights for Monday. They say passengers should check their websites for the latest updates.
