Japan on guard against powerful typhoon

TOKYO - People in Japan are bracing for a strong typhoon that is expected to make landfall in central Japan early Sunday, bringing violent winds and torrential rain.

As of 10 pm local time Saturday, Typhoon Jongdari, the 12th one of this season, was 50 kilometers south-southwest of Omaezaki, Shizuoka prefecture and was moving west at a speed of 35 kilometers per hour, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

The typhoon, with central atmospheric pressure at 970 hectopascals, had winds at a speed of 35 meters per second near its center, with gusts reaching nearly 50 meters per second, said the JMA.

Heavy rainfall and gusty winds are expected to batter wide swaths of Japan as the typhoon approaches, with rainfall of 400 mm expected over the 24-hour period through 6 pm Sunday in some areas in eastern and central Japan, said the JMA.

The approaching typhoon especially alerted some parts of western Japan that had already been ravaged by a torrential rain and subsequent flooding earlier this month that killed 224 people.

The JMA and local authorities have warned the residents against possible gusts, high waves, flooding and landslides and asked them to pay attention to government evacuation advisories.

Residents who live in areas with high risks of being threatened by flooding or landslides, especially those in disaster-hit areas in western Japan where thousands of people still live under shelters, have been asked to evacuate early before the situation gets worse.