Japan urges evacuations as typhoon bears down

TOKYO — Japanese authorities on Sunday ordered more than 1 million residents of western Japan to seek shelter as a major storm lashed the coast with high winds and threatened record-breaking flooding.

Typhoon Haishen sat off the coast of the western island of Kyushu gathering power and creating chaos in the region, where it knocked down power lines and disrupted flights and trains.

Local officials ordered 1.8 million people to evacuate seven prefectures across the region and recommended that 5.6 million others across 10 prefectures seek shelter before the storm, which was expected to pass by Japan without making landfall and head toward South Korea.

The Japan Meteorological Agency issued its highest-level warning for the storm, cautioning that it would bring record-high tides and that residents should be prepared for “large-scale flooding.”

“High tides combined with large waves could top coastal sea walls and inundate a wide area,” it said in a statement on its website on Sunday afternoon.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned residents to listen to local authorities and “take immediate action to protect your life,” adding that the country’s Self-Defense Forces were prepared to offer aid in the event of widespread damage.

By Sunday evening, fears for the worst seemed to be waning as it appeared the storm would only brush the region. Nevertheless, it was powerful enough to create major disruptions in the area.

As of 10 p.m., more than 200,000 homes in Kyushu had lost power as the storm blew down trees and power lines, according to Kyushu Electric Power.

Japan Railways said it would cancel some bullet train service in the region through Monday evening. And All Nippon Airways said it had canceled hundreds of flights across Kyushu and Okinawa through Tuesday.

The 7-Eleven convenience store chain said it had closed more than 2,000 outlets across the area affected by the storm.

About a dozen people have suffered injuries, according to reports by Japan’s public broadcaster NHK.

Charly Triballeau / AFP via Getty Images A woman walks in the rain in Kagoshima, Japan, as Typhoon Haishen nears. Officials ordered more than a million people to evacuate seven prefectures.