Typhoon No. 18 caused severe wind damage and widespread power outages across Tokunoshima Island in Japan's Amami region on Wednesday [1, 2].
The storm's slow movement amplified the impact of heavy rain and violent winds, creating hazardous conditions that disrupted critical infrastructure and residential safety.
Reporter Masao Nakagawa said scenes of devastation were at the Tokunoshima Town Sports Center, where debris and what appeared to be blown-off roofs were scattered across the grounds [1]. In other areas, building walls were peeled away and signboards collapsed onto vehicles [1]. The wind was strong enough to bend a motorbike in two [1, 2].
Electricity remains unavailable for a significant portion of the population. As of 11:20 JST on Wednesday, power outages affected between 33,000 [1] and 34,000 [3] households across the Amami region. The outages began on Tuesday and have left traffic signals non-operational [1].
Weather data indicates the severity of the system. The Amami region recorded a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 54.5 m/s [5]. Rainfall was equally intense, with Amagi Town recording 236 mm [5] and Isen Town recording 212.5 mm [5] over a 24-hour period.
Local authorities have issued wind-rain warnings and landslide alerts as the system continues to affect the area [3, 4]. Forecasts for the region include one-hour rainfall totals of 30 mm in northern Amami and 50 mm in southern Amami [3].
Nakagawa said the intensity of the storm was visible everywhere, noting that walls had fallen and signs had crushed cars [1].
“Power outages affected between 33,000 and 34,000 households across the Amami region.”
The scale of the infrastructure failure, particularly the prolonged power outage affecting over 33,000 homes, highlights the vulnerability of the Amami region's power grid to slow-moving tropical cyclones. The combination of extreme wind speeds and high 24-hour rainfall totals increases the immediate risk of landslides, necessitating continued emergency alerts even as the wind subsides.
