A super typhoon described as a “once-in-decades storm” headed for Japan on Monday (July 7), set to rake the southern Okinawa island chain with heavy rain and powerful winds before making landfall on Kyushu, Japan’s westernmost main island.
Typhoon Neoguri was already gusting at more than 250 km an hour (150 mph) and may pick up still more power as it moves north, growing into an “extremely intense” storm by Tuesday (June 8), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said. However, it was not expected to be as strong as Typhoon Haiyan, which killed thousands in the Philippines last year.
The storm was south of Okinawa but moving north-west at 20 kph (12 mph) with sustained winds of 180 kph (110 mph), the JMA said on its website, warning of high tides and lashing rain.
The JMA called on people in Okinawa to evacuate early and take precautions.
“Depending on the typhoon’s path and development, there’s the possibility that we issue a special emergency warning as early as tonight,” said Director of Forecast Division at Japan Meteorological Agency, Satoshi Ebihara, in a news conference on Monday morning.
There are no nuclear plants on Okinawa, but there are two on Kyushu and one on Shikoku island, which borders Kyushu and could also be affected.
All are halted in line with current national policy. A spokeswoman at Kyushu Electric Power Co said there were no specific plans related to this typhoon but that the company had plans in place throughout this year to protect the plants from severe weather.
Officials have warned that parts of western Japan were likely to be hit by torrential rain, but Tokyo was likely to be spared the brunt.
Around two to four typhoons a year make landfall in Japan but they are unusual in July.
Reuters wires