Typhoon Neoguri Lashes Japan’s Okinawa Island Chain

Although downgraded from ‘super typhoon’ status, Typhoon Neoguri is still packed with a powerful punch Tuesday lashing Japan’s Okinawa island chain with strong winds, heavy rain and large waves.

Neoguri, the strongest typhoon so far in the 2014 Western Pacific season, has evacuated about half a million residents though most opted to stay home as sustained winds reached 120 miles per hour.

The typhoon has gusts of up to 148 mph, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. The storm could be one of the strongest to hit Japan in decades, with waves up to 46 feet high, the agency added.

Local airports in the Okinawa region have been closed and some aircraft moved from US air base Kadena. Report said most of the U.S. troops stationed in Japan are based in Okinawa.

Japanese government officials said four people, including an 83-year-old woman, were injured and a fisherman was missing after his boat was overtaken by high waves from the storm off the mainland island of Kyushu.

Reports said islands hit by the storm Tuesday included Miyako, with some of the area’s best beaches. Storm surges on Tuesday evening and intensified as the typhoon reaches Okinawa’s main and most populous island. The semi-tropical islands in the Okinawa chain, located in the far southwest of the country, are highly popular with summer tourists from the rest of Japan.

A US Air Force colonel stationed in Kadena said the storm has suspended all works there.

Japanese authorities is well-prepared to handle typhoons that regularly batter its coastlines, but officials said this storm may cause the greatest damage by unleashing torrential rains that trigger flash floods and landslides in Kyushu.

Typhoon Neoguri is a Korean word that means “raccoon dog”.

Agency said the typhoon is expected to weaken as it heads to the next main island of Kyushu.