[Follow the latest coverage of Typhoon Shanshan.]

       Typhoon Shanshan made landfall Thursday morning in southern Japan, bringing strong winds and high waves to the area, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

       According to the agency, the typhoon made landfall at around 8 a.m. local time near Satsumasendai City in Kagoshima prefecture.

       Nearly a million people in Japan remained under evacuation orders Thursday morning as Typhoon Shanshan delivered hurricane-force winds, torrential rain and the threat of landslides, with the authorities warning that the storm could produce a large-scale disaster.

       Meteorological officials issued rare emergency warnings for the powerful storm as it churned north along the shore of Kyushu, the southernmost main island of Japan, on Thursday. Waves towered nearly 30 feet high in southern Kyushu on Thursday, and wind speeds of up to 45 meters per second were predicted, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. Record-breaking rainfall in the Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures were expected over the next several days.

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       Emergency warnings were issued for storm surge and high waves in Kagoshima Prefecture, and are the highest category of warnings possible in Japan. Such advisories are usually only issued once every few decades in a given region, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. With a risk of tornadoes in the prefecture on Thursday morning, the agency cautioned people to pay attention to the sky and move inside to sturdy buildings.

       Parts of the country far from the typhoon, mainly in western Japan and the Pacific Ocean side of eastern Japan, were experiencing heavy rain and thunder early on Thursday morning because of the storm, forecasters said. Emergency landslide warnings were issued in several prefectures.

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