Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed his sympathies to Japan, which is currently facing the devastating impact of Hurricane Nanmodal.

In a tweet on Monday, the PM said the hurricane shows that climate change does not follow a linear pattern and can bring disaster to any country.

“The world needs to wake up to horrors of this monster,” PM Shehbaz tweeted.

Thousands of people took refuge in shelters in southwestern Japan on Sunday as powerful Typhoon Nanmadol churned towards the region, prompting authorities to urge over four million residents to evacuate.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has issued a rare “special warning” for the Kagoshima and Miyazaki regions in Kyushu prefecture – an alert that is issued only when it forecasts conditions seen once in several decades.

Thousands in shelters as ‘dangerous’ typhoon hits Japan

Heavy rain and high winds lashed the area on Japan’s southern island, with nearly 98,000 households in Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Nagasaki and Miyazaki already without power.

Trains, flights and ferry runs were cancelled until the passage of the storm, and even some convenience stores – generally open all hours and considered a lifeline in disasters – were shutting their doors.

“Please stay away from dangerous places, and please evacuate if you feel even the slightest hint of danger,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida tweeted after convening a government meeting on the storm.

“It will be dangerous to evacuate at night. Please move to safety while it’s still light outside,” he added.