Powerful typhoon triggers blackout in southern Japan

TOKYO: A powerful typhoon hit Japan’s southern Okinawa islands on Saturday, cutting power to more than 15,000 homes and grounding hundreds of flights. Tapah -- packing wind gusts of up to 180 kilometres per hour -- is now moving north and is expected to progress through the sea separating South Korea and western Japan.

The country’s weather bureau issued warnings of heavy rains, floods and high tides, while the Okinawa prefectural government issued an evacuation advisory to some 334,000 people.

18 people were injured, according to officials, while local utility company Okinawa Electric said some 9,200 households were still without power as of 1045 GMT, down from 17,000 homes earlier in the day. Tapah follows on the trail of Typhoon Faxai, which barrelled through Tokyo earlier this month, packing record winds that brought down power lines, brought travel chaos and disrupted Rugby World Cup preparations.