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TOKYO - A powerful typhoon is approaching Japan's southern island of Kyushu, bringing with it a warning of likely flooding and forcing the cancellation of 128 flights, broadcaster NHK said.
Typhoon Usagi, whose name means rabbit in Japanese, was about 190km east of the tiny island of Tanegashima, about 1000km southwest of Tokyo at 9am (1200 NZT), the Meteorological Agency said.
Winds were gusting up to 234km per hour close to the centre of the storm, which was moving north northwest at about 30kmh, the agency said, as it warned of floods and high seas around southern Japan.
Usagi is expected to beat a path across the island of Kyushu and then change course to the northeast, fading into a tropical storm in the Sea of Japan before striking northern Japan at the weekend.
Last month Typhoon Man-yi killed three people and injured more than 70 in Kyushu.
- REUTERS
