Japan braces for ‘very strong’ typhoon

TOKYO: Japan on Sunday braced for a "very strong" typhoon, with authorities warning of high waves, floods and landslides, including in areas hit by deadly flooding earlier this year.

Typhoon Jebi, packing winds of up to 252 kilometres an hour, is expected to make landfall on the country’s main island on Tuesday, according to Japan’s Meteorological Agency. "Maintaining its very strong power, the typhoon is forecast to approach western and eastern Japan," the agency said.

The path of the typhoon appeared to cover the western Chugoku region, where record rainfall in July unleashed flooding and landslides, killing around 220 people in Japan’s worst weather-related disaster in decades.

Local media said the typhoon, which is still hundreds of kilometres away from Japan in the Pacific, could be the strongest storm to hit the nation this year. The meteorological agency urged residents in western and eastern Japan to prepare for high seas, landslides and floods.

The storm comes as some 27,000 people in Nagato in western Japan were temporarily ordered to evacuate their homes on Saturday due to torrential rain. Japan is now in typhoon season, and is regularly struck by major storm systems during the summer and autumn.

Jebi is to follow Typhoon Cimaron, which made landfall on August 23 disrupting transport links, but injuries and damages were limited. Jebi is the latest weather front to batter Japan, which has also been sweating through a record and deadly heatwave.