[Source: Reuters]

Southwestern Japan braced on Wednesday for what officials say could be one of the strongest storms to ever hit the region, as some residents in the path of Typhoon Shanshan were ordered to evacuate and major firms like Toyota, opens new tab closed factories.

Airlines and rail operators cancelled some services for the coming days as the typhoon, categorised as “very strong”, barrelled towards the main southwestern island of Kyushu with gusts of up to 70 metres per second (252 km per hour/157 mph).

The meteorological agency issued an emergency warning saying the typhoon could bring flooding, landslides and wind strong enough to knock down some houses.

After striking Kyushu over the next few days the storm is expected to approach central and eastern regions, including the capital Tokyo, around the weekend, the agency said.

Authorities issued evacuation orders for more than 800,000 residents in Kagoshima prefecture in southern Kyushu and central Japan’s Aichi and Shizuoka prefectures.

Toyota will suspend operations at all 14 of its plants in Japan from Wednesday evening through Thursday morning, it said. Nissan (7201.T), opens new tab said it would suspend operations at its Kyushu plant on Thursday and Friday morning, while Honda (7267.T), opens new tab will also temporarily close its factory in Kumamoto in southwestern Kyushu.

Also, Mazda Motor, opens new tab plans to suspend operations at its Hiroshima and Hofu plants, both in western Japan, from Thursday evening through Friday, the automaker said.

Shanshan is the latest harsh weather system to hit Japan following last week’s Typhoon Ampil, which also led to blackouts and evacuations.