Typhoon hits southern Japan
- 12 years ago
(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION)
Strong winds battered Okinawa as powerful typhoon Jelawat hit Japan's southern island on Saturday (September 29) while slowly moving across the Japanese archipelago.
Typhoon Jelawat, the 17th typhoon to reach the country this year, packed winds of up to 234 kilometres (145 miles) per hour. It was over the sea some 50 kilometres (31 mile) west-southwest of Nago on Okinawa's main island as of 11 a.m. (0200 GMT) Saturday, bringing the island and the Amami region of Kagoshima Prefecture into the storm zone, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Japanese broadcaster TBS showed a 4-ton cargo truck overturned by gusts as strong as 59 meters (65 yards) per second in Okinawa's capital Naha City early Saturday morning.
At least 31 people have been injured due to the winds and flying debris in Okinawa, and more than 300 were evacuated to safer places. More than 178,000 households are without power, TBS reported.
In Amami, Kagoshima Prefecture, the local government called for the entire community of 2,454 households to voluntarily evacuate. The region has already been hit by two major typhoons in recent months.
They typhoon is expected to make landfall on Japan's main Honshu Island by noon Sunday (September 30) and is due to affect the capital Tokyo until Monday (October 1) morning.
Strong winds battered Okinawa as powerful typhoon Jelawat hit Japan's southern island on Saturday (September 29) while slowly moving across the Japanese archipelago.
Typhoon Jelawat, the 17th typhoon to reach the country this year, packed winds of up to 234 kilometres (145 miles) per hour. It was over the sea some 50 kilometres (31 mile) west-southwest of Nago on Okinawa's main island as of 11 a.m. (0200 GMT) Saturday, bringing the island and the Amami region of Kagoshima Prefecture into the storm zone, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Japanese broadcaster TBS showed a 4-ton cargo truck overturned by gusts as strong as 59 meters (65 yards) per second in Okinawa's capital Naha City early Saturday morning.
At least 31 people have been injured due to the winds and flying debris in Okinawa, and more than 300 were evacuated to safer places. More than 178,000 households are without power, TBS reported.
In Amami, Kagoshima Prefecture, the local government called for the entire community of 2,454 households to voluntarily evacuate. The region has already been hit by two major typhoons in recent months.
They typhoon is expected to make landfall on Japan's main Honshu Island by noon Sunday (September 30) and is due to affect the capital Tokyo until Monday (October 1) morning.