A powerful typhoon pummeled Japan’s southern island of Okinawa Saturday, injuring at least five, as weather officials warned the storm would rip through the Japanese archipelago over the weekend. Typhoon “Trami,” packing maximum gusts of 216 kilometers (134 miles) per hour near its center, was forecast to hit the mainland early Sunday and could cause extreme weather across the country into Monday. At least 386 flights were cancelled mainly in western Japan, according to public broadcaster NHK. Fishermen in Kagoshima bay, where the typhoon is expected to make landfall, were already making preparations, tying down their boats as “Trami” approached. Deadly record rains also hit western Japan earlier this year and the country sweltered through one of the hottest summers on record.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer September 29, 2018 03:22 UTC