Strong storm lashes Japan with torrential rains and strong winds on its slow crawl northeast

TOKYO (AP) — A strong storm lashed southern Japan with torrential rain and strong winds Thursday, causing at least three deaths as it started a crawl up the length of the archipelago and raised concerns of flooding, landslides and extensive damage.

Tropical storm Shanshan made landfall Thursday morning as a powerful typhoon on the southern island of Kyushu and then gradually lost strength, though it was still forecast to bring strong winds, high waves and significant rainfall to most of the country, particularly on Kyushu.

About 60 centimeters (nearly 2 feet) of rain fell in parts of Miyazaki prefecture on Kyushu, swelling rivers and threatening floods, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. That 24-hour total was more than the average rainfall for all of August, it said.

By late afternoon Thursday, the storm was moving north at 15 kph (9 mph) and its winds had weakened to 108 kph (67 mph). It is “no longer a powerful typhoon,” the agency said.

As disaster risks in the Kyushu region subsided later Thursday, Shanshan started dumping heavy rain on neighboring Shikoku island.

The storm ripped through downtown Miyazaki city on Kyushu, knocking down trees, throwing cars to the side in parking lots and shattering windows of some buildings. The prefectural disaster management task force said about 50 buildings were damaged.

NHK public television showed a swollen river in the popular hot spring town of Yufu in Oita prefecture, just north of Miyazaki, with muddy water splashing against a bridge.

More than 70 people were injured across Kyushu, mostly in Miyazaki and Kagoshima. Some were injured by being thrown to the ground by the storm on their way to shelters, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said.

About 168,000 households were without power across Kyushu, most of them in Kagoshima prefecture, Kyushu Electric Power Co. said.

About 20,000 people took shelter at municipal community centers, school gymnasiums and other facilities across Kyushu, according to prefectural reports.

Ahead of the storm's arrival, heavy rain triggered a landslide that buried a house in the central city of Gamagori, killing three residents and injuring two others, the city’s disaster management department said. On the southern island of Amami, which Shanshan passed, one person was injured by being knocked down by a wind gust while riding a motorcycle, the fire agency said.

Weather and government officials are concerned about extensive damage as the storm slowly sweeps up the Japanese archipelago to the northeast over the next few days, threatening more floods and landslides.

In the Tokyo region, Shinkansen bullet trains connecting Tokyo and Osaka were suspended starting Thursday evening due to heavy rain in the central region. Bullet train service also was to be suspended in parts of the western and central regions on Friday.

Disaster Management Minister Yoshifumi Matsumura said Shanshan could cause “unprecedented” levels of violent winds, high waves, storm surges and heavy rain. At a task force meeting on Wednesday, he urged people, especially older adults, not to hesitate and take shelter whenever there is any safety concern.

Hundreds of domestic flights connecting southwestern cities and islands were canceled Thursday, and bullet trains and some local train services were suspended. As the storm headed northeast, similar steps were taken in parts of the main island of Honshu that were experiencing heavy rain. Postal and delivery services were suspended in the Kyushu region, and supermarkets and other stores planned to close.

People holding umbrella, struggles with the strong wind as a typhoon is approaching in Fukuoka, western Japan, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

A car makes its way through a flooded road as a typhoon hits the city in Usuki, Oita prefecture western Japan, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

A road is covered by mud and stones as a typhoon hits the city in Yufu, Oita prefecture western Japan, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

Roof tiles are seen scattered blown away by strong winds of a typhoon in Miyazaki, western Japan, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

Roof tiles are seen scattered by strong winds of a typhoon at a residential area in Miyazaki, western Japan, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

People holding umbrella, struggle with the strong wind as a typhoon is approaching in Fukuoka, western Japan, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

A departing flight information board shows that some flights were canceled due to an approaching Typhoon Shanshan at Haneda airport Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A departing flight information board shows that some flights were canceled due to an approaching Typhoon Shanshan at Haneda airport Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A departing flight information board shows that some flights were canceled due to an approaching Typhoon Shanshan at Haneda airport Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

This aerial image shows the landslide in Gamagori, Aichi prefecture, Japan, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. Ahead of the typhoon's arrival, heavy rain caused a landslide that buried a house in the central city of Gamagori. (Kyodo News via AP)

Farmland along a river is flooded by heavy rains caused by a typhoon in Yufu, Oita prefecture, western Japan, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

An exterior wall of a building is seen damaged by strong wind of a typhoon in Miyazaki, western Japan, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

People holding umbrella, struggle with the strong wind as a typhoon is approaching in Kagoshima, western Japan, Tehursday, Aug. 29, 2024, (Hidetaka Komukai/Kyodo News via AP)

A metal object blown away by strong winds of a typhoon is caught on a power line in Miyazaki, western Japan, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

In one of the deadliest cult-related massacres ever, the remains of more than 430 victims have been recovered since police raided Good News International Church in a forest some 70 kilometers (40 miles) inland from the Kenyan coastal town of Malindi.

Seventeen months later, many in the area are still shaken by what happened despite repeated warnings about the church’s leader.

Autopsies on more than 100 bodies showed deaths from starvation, strangulation, suffocation, and injuries sustained from blunt objects. A gravedigger, Shukran Karisa Mangi, said he believed more mass graves were yet to be discovered. At least 600 people are reported missing, according to the Kenya Red Cross.

Here are some details about the case.

The evangelical leader of Good News, Paul Mackenzie, is accused of instructing his followers to starve to death for the opportunity to meet Jesus. Mackenzie pleaded not guilty to charges in the murders of 191 children, multiple counts of manslaughter and other crimes. If convicted, he would spend the rest of his life in prison.

Some in Malindi who spoke to The Associated Press said Mackenzie’s confidence while in custody showed the wide-ranging power some evangelists project even as their teachings undermine government authority, break the law, or harm followers desperate for healing and other miracles.

It’s not only Mackenzie, said Thomas Kakala, a self-described bishop with the Malindi-based Jesus Cares Ministry International, referring to questionable pastors he knew in the capital Nairobi. “You look at them. If you are sober and you want to hear the word of God, you wouldn’t go to their church. But the place is packed.”

A man like Mackenzie, who refused to join the fellowship of pastors in Malindi and rarely quoted Scripture, could thrive in a country like Kenya, said Kakala. Six detectives have been suspended for ignoring multiple warnings about Mackenzie’s illegal activities.

Kakala said he felt discouraged in his attempts to discredit Mackenzie years ago. The evangelist had played a tape of Kakala on his TV station and declared him an enemy. Kakala felt threatened.

Mackenzie, a former street vendor and cab driver with a high-school education, apprenticed with a Malindi preacher in the late 1990s. There, in the laid-back tourist town, he opened his own church in 2003.

A charismatic preacher, he was said to perform miracles and exorcisms, and could be generous with his money. His followers included teachers and police officers. They came to Malindi from across Kenya, giving Mackenzie national prominence that spread the pain of the deaths across the country.

The first complaints against Mackenzie concerned his opposition to formal schooling and vaccination. He was briefly detained in 2019 for opposing the government’s efforts to assign national identification numbers to Kenyans, saying the numbers were satanic.

He closed his Malindi church premises later that year and urged his congregation to follow him to Shakahola, where he leased 800 acres of forest inhabited by elephants and big cats.

Church members paid small sums to own plots in Shakahola. They were required to build houses and live in villages with biblical names like Nazareth, according to survivors. They said Mackenzie grew more demanding, with people from different villages forbidden from communicating or gathering.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, which witnesses said strengthened Mackenzie’s vision of the end times, the leader ordered more rigorous fasting that became even more stringent by the end of 2022. Parents were forbidden from feeding their children, witnesses said.

Like much of East Africa, Kenya is dominated by Christians. While many are Anglican or Catholic, evangelical Christianity has been spreading widely since the 1980s. Many pastors style their ministries in the manner of successful U.S. televangelists, investing in broadcasting and advertising.

Many of Africa’s evangelical churches are run like sole proprietorships, without the guidance of trustee boards or laity. Pastors are often unaccountable, deriving authority from their perceived ability to perform miracles or make prophecies. Some, like Mackenzie, can seem all-powerful.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

A piece of clothing lies in the bush near the forest where dozens of bodies were found in shallow graves in the village of Shakahola, near the coastal city of Malindi, in southern Kenya, on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)