Residents have been bracing for rough weather. Kathryn Spoor, who lives in Okinawa, told the BBC that most of the people who needed to evacuate had done so already.
"Right now we do have a lot of wind and rain," she said. "We have showers coming in and gusts in my area are at about 143 kilometres per hour right now so it is definitely a dangerous situation."
Okinawa, Japan's southern-most prefecture that comprises several islands, is home to major US bases. Around 26,000 US troops are stationed there under a long-standing security alliance.
Officers have evacuated some aircraft from Kadena Air Base in preparation for Typhoon Neoguri's arrival.
Lieutenant Erik Anthony, near Kadena Air Base, said winds were starting to pick up.
"Trees are bending and you can see branches flying across the street, garbage and trash rolling down the road," he told the BBC.
"But I haven't seen any major damage as of yet and the communication is still up, which is a huge priority here on Okinawa.
Urging residents to remain on maximum alert, JMA warned of the possibility that Typhoon Neoguri could move north to Japan's main island of Honshu.
In the last few hours, the storm has been downgraded from "super-typhoon" status, reports the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Tokyo, and as it crosses in to the East China Sea it is expected to weaken further.
But Typhoon Neoguri is still carrying a huge amount of moisture. When it hits the mainland much of that will be released as rain, which could unleash flash floods and trigger landslides, our correspondent adds.
No comments:
Post a Comment