Typhoon Chan-hom threatens western, eastern Japan on weekend

TOKYO -- Strong Typhoon Chan-hom is expected to approach western Japan through Oct. 10 and eastern Japan between Oct. 10 and 11, as it threatens to hit a wide range of the country with heavy rain and strong winds, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) warned.

The agency is urging people to be on their guard against high waves, violent winds, landslides, flooding in low-lying areas and river swelling or flooding as the typhoon approaches.

As of 6 p.m. on Oct. 9, the typhoon, the 14th of the year, was located about 220 kilometers south-southeast of Cape Ashizuri on the western Japan island of Shikoku, and was slowly heading north-northeast. It had a central atmospheric pressure of 975 hectopascals and was packing maximum sustained wind speeds near its center of 35 meters per second (126 kilometers per hour), with maximum wind gust speeds of up to 50 m/s (180 kph), the agency said.

Through Oct. 10, strong winds of up to 30 m/s (108 kph) with gusts of up to 45 m/s (162 kph) are predicted to lash the Izu Islands south of Tokyo. Strong winds of up to 25 m/s (90 kph) with gusts of up to 35 m/s (126 kph) are forecast to lash Shikoku and the Kinki region in western Japan and the Tokai region in central Japan.

The typhoon was also expected to bring extremely heavy rain with thunderstorms to the Pacific side of western and eastern Japan, the JMA warned. Over the 24-hour period up until 6 p.m. on Oct. 10, up to 300 millimeters of rain is expected in the Tokai region, up to 250 mm in the Izu Islands, up to 200 mm in the Kinki region and up to 120 mm in the Shikoku region and the Kanto-Koshin region in eastern Japan.

(Mainichi)