A powerful typhoon was closing in on Japan on Thursday, grounding planes and bringing warnings of torrential rain, landslides and high waves in large areas of the country.
Typhoon Mawar, packing winds of up to 144kph near its centre, was approaching Japan’s main island of Honshu at a speed of 15kph, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
At 5pm (8am GMT), Mawar was located about 100km south-west of Omaezaki, about 180km south-west of Tokyo, the agency said.
The storm was expected to hit Honshu’s Pacific coast between late Thursday and Friday, the agency said, warning of high waves and heavy rain.
”Since the typhoon’s moving speed is slow, there are concerns that heavy rains and winds might occur in the areas where the typhoon stays,” said a spokesperson of the agency.
The nation’s two main carriers, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways, cancelled 47 flights, both domestic and international, because of the storm.
Last year, a record 10 typhoons hit mainland Japan. The last of them, Tokage, was the deadliest typhoon in a quarter-century, killing 90 people. — Sapa-AFP