Huge typhoon Lan heading for Japan’s main island

October 21, 2017

TOKYO- Very large and strong Typhoon Lan was traveling toward Japan's Honshu main island on Saturday, the day before the House of Representatives election in the country.

The 21st typhoon of the year is forecast to approach the Kinki western to Kanto eastern regions between Sunday night and Monday morning and could make landfall, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

The agency calls on citizens to take precautions against heavy rains, powerful storms, high tidal waves and other severe weather conditions, mainly in Pacific coastal areas.

Typhoon Lan was heading northeast at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour in waters southeast of the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa at 9 a.m. (midnight Friday GMT), with a central atmospheric pressure of 925 hectopascals.

Around the center of the typhoon, the maximum sustained wind speed was 50 meters per second, and the maximum instantaneous wind speed was 70 meters. Jiji Press