Tokyo (AFP) – Authorities issued storm and heavy rain warnings on Wednesday as powerful typhoon Chaba barreled toward Japan, after it hit a South Korean resort island causing flight cancellations and flooding streets.
The violent storm was moving north-northeast off the Tsushima islets chain near Japan’s southern Kyushu, packing gusts of up to 180 kilometers (110 miles) per hour, Japan’s weather agency said. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued warnings for gusts, heavy rains, high ocean waves and floods, covering a large swathe of western Japan.
The storm is set to hit Japan’s main island of Honshu Wednesday evening before moving out into the Pacific on Thursday, the agency reported. The typhoon hit the South Korean resort island of Jeju early Wednesday, bringing heavy rains that flooded streets, forced flight cancellations and disrupted power to thousands of homes.