Almost 1 million people asked to evacuate in Japan amid typhoon

Tokyo, Aug 1 (EFE).- Japanese authorities urged the evacuation Tuesday of almost 1 million people in the Okinawa archipelago, in the south of the country, due to the expected passage of a strong typhoon in coming hours.

The southern Japanese islands were preparing Tuesday for the arrival of Khanun, the sixth typhoon of the season in the Pacific, expected to approach Okinawa between Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing strong winds that could leave storms and big waves.

Khanun, a large typhoon of “very strong” intensity, was located at 1:45 p.m. local time (4:45 GMT) about 190 kilometers southeast of Naha, the capital of Okinawa, and was moving about 15kmph in a west-northwest direction, according to Japan’s weather agency.

Many islands were already under the influence of the storm Tuesday, which brought winds of 180kmph near the center and gusts of up to more than 250kmph, unleashing alerts for the risk of tidal waves, floods, landslides and other potential natural disasters associated with these phenomena.

As the typhoon is expected to intensify as it moves towards Okinawa, local authorities have issued early evacuation orders and recommendations affecting nearly 1 million people in the early afternoon.

Authorities expect the typhoon to dump torrential rains in the area, up to 150mm on Okinawa and 120mm on the Amami Islands in the 24 hours through Wednesday, with the rainfall continuing into Thursday.

Japan is not the only country on alert for Khanun. Philippine authorities, southwest of Okinawa, began issuing alerts Monday for potential floods and landslides due to its influence, while the country is recovers from the passage of Typhoon Doksuri, which killed 25 people there. EFE

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