A powerful typhoon made landfall in Japan's southwest island of Kyushu, on Aug. 29, 2024, at about 8am (Japan time).

Typhoon Shanshan landed near the city of Satsumasendai, near Kagoshima Prefecture, The Japan Times reported.

In Kagoshima Prefecture, an evacuation advisory was issued for about 118,000 households, or about 228,000 people, The Japan News wrote. 

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) issued a rare special warning about the typhoon, warning of landslides, floods and large-scale damage, the BBC reported.

Such special warnings are only issued by Japan for powerful storms.

The deluge

According to the BBC, there have been reports on the island of Kyushu of high winds up to 252km/h.

For comparison, Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated the Philippines, reached one-minute sustained winds at 315km/h. 

Up to 600mm of rain has been forecast in some areas of Kyushu to pour over 24 hours. 

Videos circulating on social media purport to show the deluge:

@weatherchannel Typhoon Shanshan is slowly moving toward Japan and its heavy rain has already caused problems. #TheWeatherChannel #fyp #weathertok #weatherchannel #typhoon #landslide #news #Japan #damage #severe #weather ♬ original sound - The Weather Channel

The typhoon has been destroying buildings and knocking out the power in Makurazaki, Japan, a coastal city in Kyushu:

Typhoon Shanshan ripping walls off of buildings, knocking out power, and taking a toll on the city Makurazaki, Japan!! @MyRadarWX @OreboundImages @jpetramala #Japan #Shanshan pic.twitter.com/HmUoz88ksh

— Jordan Hall (@JordanHallWX) August 28, 2024

In another video, the extent of the gusts can be seen:

Vicious #typhoon - getting hammered in Makurazaki, complete whiteout at times #shanshan pic.twitter.com/1VGclkRKeY

— James Reynolds (@EarthUncutTV) August 28, 2024

On a slightly more light-hearted note, thousands of viewers were tuning in to a live stream of an apparently famous palm tree in Kagoshima called Yasshi holding its own against the fierce typhoon gusts.

People on the livestream are apparently cheering for the tree to make it:

Thousands of Japanese netizens are watching the Weather News Typhoon Shanshan YouTube livestream of a famous Kagoshima palm tree nicknamed Yasshi (ヤッシー). Hang in there, Yasshi! You can survive this!pic.twitter.com/a9Chm3Z56G https://t.co/a0SlrpLkYQ

— Jeffrey J. Hall 🇯🇵🇺🇸 (@mrjeffu) August 28, 2024

Scale of devastation

As of 9am on Aug. 29, a total of 250,000 households in Kyushu reported electricity outages.

Already, 3 people, including a couple in their 70s and a man in his 30s, have been confirmed dead with their home having been swept away prior to the typhoon making landfall, BBC reported.

39 people have been injured in Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures.

Hundreds of flights to and from southern Japan, including high-speed train services, have been cancelled.

Typhoon Shanshan comes in the wake of Typhoon Ampil which struck Japan earlier in August 2024.

Top photo from kosmi64833127/X  & EarthUncutTV/X.