Strong, violent typhoon may approach Japan’s Okinawa around weekend

Japan's weather agency warned that powerful Typhoon Bavi could approach Okinawa later this week with violent winds, rough seas and torrential rain. Authorities urged residents to monitor forecasts as the storm threatened southern Japan after strengthening over the Pacific

Tokyo: Typhoon Bavi, a very large and violent tropical cyclone, could approach Japan’s southern island prefecture of Okinawa with strong intensity later this week, the country’s weather agency said on Tuesday.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), as of 3 am local time on Tuesday, the season’s ninth typhoon was moving westward near the Mariana Islands in the Pacific at a speed of 30 kilometres per hour (kph), packing gusts of up to 270 kph, and had an atmospheric pressure of 920 hectopascals at its centre. The typhoon is expected to change course toward the north and may approach Okinawa with very strong intensity around Friday and Saturday.

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The JMA urged the public to stay updated with the latest forecasts and weather warnings. As Bavi draws closer, seas around Okinawa Prefecture and the Amami region of Kagoshima Prefecture are expected to turn very rough from around Thursday, and Okinawa may see severe weather and warning-level torrential rainfall from around Friday.

Depending on the typhoon’s track, rough seas could also develop off the southern part of Japan’s southwestern main island of Kyushu. Last month, Typhoon Jangmi made landfall in the southern part of Wakayama Prefecture in western Japan, prompting the weather agency to temporarily issue a Level 5 special flood warning.

The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) had issued the Level 5 Emergency Warning for flooding of the Koza River running through Wakayama Prefecture, the highest level of alert on the agency’s scale of one to five.

The warning was later downgraded to Level 2, but officials urged residents to remain alert for rising river levels and flooding. Torrential and extremely heavy rain was witnessed along the Pacific side of western and eastern Japan. The JMA had warned the public about the risk of rain-related disasters.