Aug 09 (NHK) - A tropical storm made landfall in Japan's southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima on Sunday night, bringing heavy rain to parts of the Kyushu region. It is expected to move across the Shikoku and Chugoku regions.
The Meteorological Agency says tropical storm Lupit made landfall near the city of Makurazaki shortly after 8 p.m.
As of 6 p.m., the storm had a central atmospheric pressure of 990 hectopascals, and winds of up to 72 kilometers per hour, with maximum instantaneous gusts of 108 kilometers per hour.
The storm could bring extremely heavy rain, accompanied by thunder, to western Japan through Monday.
Lupit is expected to become a low-pressure system in the Sea of Japan. It may bring heavy rain to eastern Japan on Monday and to northern Japan on Monday and Tuesday.
Precipitation in the 24 hours through Monday evening could reach 300 millimeters in the Shikoku region, 250 millimeters in the Tokai, Kinki and northern Kyushu regions, 200 millimeters in the Chugoku and southern Kyushu regions, 120 millimeters in the Kanto-Koshin region and 100 millimeters in the Hokuriku region.
Maximum wind speeds through Monday are expected to reach 90 kilometers per hour in the Hokuriku region, 83 kilometers in the Kinki region, 72 kilometers in Hokkaido as well as the Tohoku, Chugoku, Shikoku and Kyushu regions, and 65 kilometers in the Kanto-Koshin and Tokai regions.
The agency is calling on people to watch out for landslides, inundation of low-lying areas, swollen rivers and flooding.
Officials are also advising caution against strong winds, high waves and storm surges.