Typhoon Khanun, which has been hitting Japan for almost a week, is now heading towards the island of Kyushu, forcing the organizers of the commemorations of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki to adopt a reduced format. For the first time in 60 years, the ceremony in memory of the victims will not take place outdoors.
After hitting Okinawa badly last week, Typhoon Khanun was heading towards Kyushu, the large island in southwestern Japan, on Monday, forcing organizers of the commemorations of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki to adopt a reduced format. For the first time in 60 years, the annual ceremony scheduled for Wednesday in Nagasaki in memory of the victims of the bomb dropped on August 9, 1945 will not take place outdoors but in a convention center in the port city.
The number of participants has therefore been reduced sharply and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will not attend the event. Typhoon Khanun was about 350 km south of Kyushu on Monday and was generating winds of up to 144 km/h, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). It warned of the likelihood of “heavy rainfall” in its wake, which increases the risk of floods and landslides.
Two dead and a hundred injured last week
This tropical storm has already raged last week in the archipelago of Okinawa, at the southern tip of Japan, killing two people and a hundred injured, and depriving several hundred thousand homes of electricity.
The typhoon then took the direction of China, before making a complete U-turn and crossing Okinawa in the opposite direction, with a power slightly lower than during its first passage. After the west coast of Kyushu, the typhoon is expected to continue north and reach South Korea on Thursday.