Typhoon Goni reaches Japan
August 24, 2015
Typhoon Goni strengthened on Monday as it lashed the southwestern Japanese islands of Okinawa, packing winds of 256 kilometers per hour (159 mph).
The powerful storm has already left a trail of destruction and claimed 15 lives in the northern Philippines over the weekend.
In Japan, the record gusts flipped over cars and knocked over electricity posts on Ishigaki, a remote island close to Taiwan, local media reported.
Several people were injured and close to 100 others asked to leave their homes overnight, as heavy rains and fierce winds pounded the Okinawa islands.
Scores of flights were canceled and around 20,000 homes were without power for several hours. Several people were injured by broken windows.
The Typhoon carried maximum sustained winds of 180 km/h, while rainfall of up to 180 millimeters (7 inches) was forecast throughout the region over the next 24 hours.
Goni was due to reach Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu and the Korean Peninsula by Tuesday morning.
Forecasters urged local officials to help residents prepare, predicting widespread damage on Kyushu, adding that Nagasaki prefecture – with a population of 1.5 million - was at risk of a direct landfall.
In the Philippines, 15 people were killed in the mountain province of Benguet on the main northern island of Luzon, after Goni made landfall on Friday.
The dead included four gold miners whose remote camps in Mankayan town were buried under a huge mudslide. A dozen others are still missing.
“They were sleeping when a huge chunk of the mountain came down and buried their work sites,” said local governor Nestor Fongwan, adding that a 100-strong search and rescue team were digging through the mud, hoping to find survivors.
The other victims died as the storm lashed their mountain-side homes, while three others are still unaccounted for, feared drowned after being swept away by river currents.
Goni is the 15th typhoon of the season. Last month, two people were killed and more than 50 injured when Typhoon Nangka struck central Japan.
mm/msh (AP, dpa)