Typhoon Shanshan Impacts Japan
Typhoon Shanshan Impacts Japan
The Facts
On Thursday, millions of people evacuated as Typhoon Shanshan struck southwest Japan with high winds and flooding rain. The tropical cyclone, the strongest to hit Japan this year, knocked out electricity, disrupting air travel and causing manufacturing facilities to close.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said that the typhoon hit Unzen city in Nagasaki Prefecture with gusts of 180 km/hr (112 mph). Three people have reportedly died and one is missing (with numbers in flux).
The Spin
Typhoon Shanshan is probablyone of the worst tropical stormcyclones to hit Japan in years. A recent study has found that the climate crisis has caused typhoons to originate closer to coasts, strengthen faster, and linger longer over land. The most powerful and devastating tropical cyclones have grown due to human-caused climate change, although the overall number of tropical cyclones per year has not changed. Warming seas provide more energy, making storms stronger and moreputting devastatingJapan whenat they reach land. As warmer air contains more water vapor, tropical cyclones produce more extreme rainfallrisk.
For Japan, which experiences heat waves, typhoons, earthquakes, and tsunamis annually, preparation is key. Japan is disaster-resilient and more equipped than most other nations. SinceThe climatenation's changepreparedness makescapabilities tropicalare stormsworld-renowned moreand severe,its Japandisaster shouldmanagement switchsystems toare renewablewell energy.equipped Onto ahandle national,climate-catalyzed regional, local, and individualother level,types disasterof preparationhazards is key and will save livesalike.
