TOKYO - Typhoon Jangmi made landfall in the southern part of Wakayama Prefecture in western Japan on Wednesday morning after dumping rain along the Pacific Ocean side of the country's southwest and west, the weather agency said.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a level 5 flood danger warning, the highest, for Koza River at the southern tip of the prefecture, calling on residents in nearby areas to exercise maximum caution as the river has already started to overflow its banks.
Earlier, the agency said a so-called linear rainband had formed in the southern part of the prefecture, indicating extremely heavy rainfall.
Shortly before making landfall at around 4:30 a.m., the season's sixth typhoon was near the coastal city of Tanabe and moving east-northeast at a speed of 40 kilometers per hour, packing winds of up to 126 kph.
The weather agency expects the typhoon to move eastward on the country's Pacific side, and has warned the public about heavy rains and the risk of rain-related disasters.
It is forecasting up to 200 millimeters of rainfall in the Tokai and Kanto-Koshin regions, as well as up to 120 mm in the Tohoku region over a 24-hour period through 6 a.m. Thursday.
If any further linear rainbands develop, the areas where they occur are likely to see even higher rainfall totals, it added.
As the typhoon brushed past the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku earlier, the agency issued level 4 flood danger warnings for rivers in Miyazaki and Tokushima prefectures, urging all residents in dangerous areas to evacuate.
