Tokyo, Jul 15: Typhoon Nari crossed the Hokkaido coast on Tuesday, the first landfall by a typhoon on Japan's northern main island since 2016, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The typhoon made landfall near Cape Erimo at the southern tip of Hokkaido at around 2 a.m. local time, also marking the first to make landfall in Hokkaido during July since records began in 1951, the weather agency said.

The system, which formed over the weekend around 200 km south of Chichijima Island in the Pacific, moved along the eastern side of the Japanese archipelago before approaching Hokkaido, and turned into an extratropical cyclone at 9 a.m. local time.

Weather officials called on residents to remain vigilant against strong winds in Hokkaido, with maximum speeds of up to 87.48 km per hour recorded in the city of Kushiro, Xinhua news agency reported.

Typhoon Nari, the fifth named storm of the season, continues to impact Japan, bringing heavy rainfall and prompting evacuation advisories in several regions. While Japan typically experiences more typhoons between August and September, rising sea temperatures linked to climate change are contributing to storms arriving earlier and with potentially greater intensity.

As of Tuesday afternoon, no fatalities or major injuries had been reported. However, local authorities in Hokkaido and parts of the Tohoku region issued evacuation advisories, urging residents to seek shelter as a precaution.

The Japan Meteorological Agency noted that the country experienced a 30 per cent increase in rainfall during typhoons between 1980 and 2010 compared to earlier decades, highlighting a growing trend toward more intense weather events.

Nari’s remnants are expected to continue moving northeastward over the Sea of Okhotsk, bringing additional rainfall through Wednesday in parts of northern Japan. Forecasts indicate that the Kanto-Koshin region could receive up to 200mm of rain in the 24 hours leading to Tuesday evening, while Hokkaido may see up to 120mm, and the Tohoku region around 80mm.

On Monday, localised downpours were already recorded, with 52mm of rain falling in just one hour in the town of Ino in Kochi Prefecture and 32mm in Tamana city, Kumamoto Prefecture, underscoring the storm’s intensity.

(IANS)

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