THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
October 8, 2019 at 14:20 JST
Massive Typhoon No. 19 is forecast to whip through Kyushu, Shikoku and Honshu from Oct. 12 to 13, bringing dangerous conditions to a wide area.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued a nationwide warning for possible powerful winds, high waves and heavy rain over the three-day holiday weekend through Oct. 14. Oct. 14 is Health-Sports Day, a national holiday.
As of 9 a.m. on Oct. 8, the typhoon was moving west-northwest off the Mariana Islands at 25 kph, according to the agency.
The typhoon packs a maximum wind speed near the center of 198 kph, gusting to as much as 270 kph, with a central atmospheric pressure of 915 hectopascals.
The agency also said it is possible the typhoon may lose strength from now and move north.
As it heads north, high waves could occur from Oct. 9 in the Ogasawara island chain in Okinawa Prefecture and from Oct. 10 in the Amami island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture.
People in the areas are warned to prepare for high waves and strong winds.
High waves could occur from Oct. 11 on the Pacific Ocean side of western and eastern Japan.
Depending on the typhoon's movements, strong winds and heavy rain could hit a wider area from western Japan to Hokkaido from Oct. 12.
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