Tokyo, Oct. 8, (dpa/GNA) – Typhoon Chan-hom was bearing down on Japan’s main island on Thursday, with weather authorities warning of strong winds and torrential rains.
The slow-moving typhoon is also expected to bring mudslides, flooding, swollen rivers and high waves to broad swathes of the country, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Some south-western Japanese islands were already hit by powerful winds in the morning.
As of noon (0300 GMT), the eye of the storm was about 320 kilometres south-east of Tanegashima Island, travelling north at 10 kilometres per hour (km/h), with maximum sustained winds of 126 km/h and gusts of 180 km/h, the agency said.
The storm is projected to approach Tokyo and its surrounding areas Saturday evening, according to the agency.
The agency forecast rainfall of up to 150 millimetres for central and western Japan and up to 120 millimetres for the south-western island of Shikoku and the island of Kyushu by Friday noon.
In July, torrential rains pummelled Kyushu and central Japan, killing about 80 people, including 65 in the prefecture of Kumamoto, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.
