Typhoon Chan-hom, with an atmospheric pressure of 935 hectopascals at its center and with winds hurtling up to 234 kilometers per hour, ransacked areas of Okinawa in Japan, leaving more than 20 people injured, before heading off in the East China Sea, the weather agency said here Friday.
Local TV stations also reported that trees in Okinawa were being uprooted by Chan-hom and tossed around like toys, with the ferocity of the storm forcing local officials to evacuate nearly 200 people from the worst-affected areas.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the typhoon , having lashed Okinawa, is heading for a collision course with China's Taiwan and the mainland thereafter, causing China to evacuate thousands from eastern lying areas in anticipation of the super typhoon -- the same typhoon that was responsible for taking at least five lives in the Philippines earlier in the week.
The JMA, as of 14:58 local time, still had in place weather warnings and advisories for many parts of Japan through Friday night and specifically issued an "advisory" to the majority of south Japan, stating that the region should still "expect heavy rain, floods and thunderstorms," with southern Kyushu and all of Okinawa being issued a "warning" meaning to "expect high-force- gales and dangerously high waves."
The weather agency also said that the strong, gale-force winds and high waves would continue to pummel Japan's southernmost prefecture, where more than 40,000 households have their power knocked out by the force of Chan-hom, and warned those who have already been evacuated to stay away from their homes, and other in the high-risk zones to be vigilant.
The majority of flights in and out of Okinawa and northern Taiwan have been canceled, air officials confirmed Friday.
