- Super Typhoon Trami is about 186 miles (300 km) southeast of Miyako island
- The typhoon is forecast to pick up speed and approach western Japan on Sunday
- It is the latest storm to threaten Japan in a year filled with natural disasters
- Less than a month ago, a typhoon flooded Kansai International airport
A large, very strong typhoon is set to rip through mainland Japan over the weekend, bringing violent winds and torrential rain.
The ‘unstoppable’ Super Typhoon Trami, which is rated category 2 by Tropical Storm Risk, with category 5 the highest, has destructive winds gusting at speeds as high as 134 mph (216kmh).
It is the latest storm to threaten Japan in a year filled with more than the usual number of disasters, including punishing heat, heavy rains and landslides.
Less than a month ago, a typhoon flooded Kansai International airport near Osaka, leaving thousands of tourists stranded.
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A large, very strong typhoon (pictured) is set to rip through mainland Japan over the weekend, bringing violent winds and torrential rain
Trami is currently about 186 miles (300km) southeast of Miyako island.
Although the Japanese capital of Tokyo is set for heavy rain, current predictions show it avoiding a direct hit.
‘As it is forecast to go across Japan at a high speed, we are urging people to be vigilant’ in the days ahead, Sakiko Nishioka from the meteorological agency told AFP.
‘Please be on high alert against violent winds, high waves and heavy rainfall,’ the agency said in a statement.
After dumping torrential rain on the outlying islands, the typhoon is forecast to pick up speed and approach western Japan on Sunday, remaining very strong as it barrels over the mainland.
Images from the International Space Station posted on Twitter by astronaut Alexander Gerst on Tuesday showed Trami’s enormous eye which he said was ‘as if somebody pulled the planet’s gigantic plug’.
‘Staring down the eye of yet another fierce storm… Trami is unstoppable and heading for Japan and Taiwan. Be safe down there!’ he wrote.
Churning north across Okinawa on Saturday, Trami is then predicted to rake across the islands of Kyushu and the main island of Honshu on Sunday, a path similar to that taken by typhoon Jebi early in September
The ‘unstoppable’ Super Typhoon Trami, which is rated category 2 by Tropical Storm Risk, with category 5 the highest, has destructive winds gusting at speeds as high as 134 mph (216kmh)
Japan’s main two airlines JAL and ANA have already started to cancel some domestic flights, scrapping more than 100 between them to the islands.
If the forecast holds, it will be the latest in a series of extreme natural events to strike Japan.
Jebi, the most powerful storm to hit Japan in 25 years, brought some of the highest tides since a 1961 typhoon and flooded Kansai airport near Osaka, taking it out of service for days.
Images from the International Space Station posted on Twitter by astronaut Alexander Gerst on Tuesday showed Trami’s enormous eye which he said was ‘as if somebody pulled the planet’s gigantic plug’
‘Staring down the eye of yet another fierce storm… Super Typhoon Trami is unstoppable and heading for Japan and Taiwan. Be safe down there!’ Mr Gerst wrote
Trami (pictured) is about 186 miles southeast of Miyako island, with winds gusting as high as 134 mph. If the forecast holds, it will be the latest in a series of natural events to strike Japan
Seventeen people died in the storm, whose high winds sent trees crashing to the ground and cars scudding across parking lots.
Even for a nation accustomed to disasters, this year has been hard for Japan, starting with a volcanic eruption in January that rained rocks down on a ski resort, killing one.
July brought record-breaking heat that killed at least 80 people and sent over 20,000 to hospital for treatment, along with torrential rains in western Japan that set off floods and landslides, killing more than 200.
Just two days after Jebi hit in September, the northernmost main island of Hokkaido was rocked by an earthquake that set off landslides, knocked out power throughout the island and killed at least 44 people. (Click to Source)
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