80 Flights Canceled as Typhoon Nangka Nears Japan

Tokyo (PNA/Sputnik) — About 80 domestic flights in Japan have been cancelled as Typhoon Nangka approaches the country’s southern coasts with over 4,000 residents of the Shikoku Island having received evacuation advisory notices.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, Nangka is currently located south of Shikoku and is moving in the north-west direction at a speed of about 20 kilometers per hour (12 miles per hour). The typhoon has sustained winds with speeds ranging between 30 and 40 meters per second (67 miles per hour).

A storm advisory is in effect on the Okinawa, Kyushu and Shikoku islands, as well as most of the eastern coast of Japan’s largest island of Hunshu. Several ports are closed in southern Japan.

Some parts of the inland Chuo Expressway, which connects the Tokyo and Nagoya urban areas with the Nagano, Yamanashi, Kanagawa and Gifu prefectures have been closed off.

Meteorologists are warning of landslides that Nangka rains could cause.

Nangka started off as a tropical depression on July 3, strengthening into a fully-fledged typhoon within a three-day period. Its strength peaked a week ago with the typhoon’s sustained winds reaching a speed of about 155 miles per hour as it passed north of Guam. Since then, Nangka has weakened.

The 2015 Pacific hurricane season started on May 15 and will run until the end of November. (PNA/Sputnik) JBP/CDN