A super typhoon is on its way to Japan and emergency services have already issued a warning to people in the country’s southern islands to take maximum precautions.
A super typhoon is expected to hit the Okinawa island chain with heavy rain and powerful winds. Meteorologists are predicting that the storm could bring winds at speeds of up to 150 mph and that the storm will be extremely intense and dangerous.
“In these regions, there is a chance of the kinds of storms, high seas, storm surges and heavy rains that you’ve never experienced before,” a JMA official said in a news conference.
“This is an extraordinary situation, where a grave danger is approaching.”
How big is Supertyphoon Neoguri? Here's a comparison for folks in the US who experienced Hurricane Sandy: pic.twitter.com/VzkblJgj7v
— 350 dot org (@350) July 8, 2014
The JMA has urged anyone living or staying near the target areas to evacuate as soon as possible and not to stick around and wait for conditions to get worse before doing so.
The storm has many people worried that another nuclear disaster could happen. Luckily, there are no nuclear plants on Okinawa, but there are two on Kyushu and one on Shikoku island. Neither of these locations are in the target zone, but both could be affected.
Officials are hoping that the typhoon will pass without causing too much damage, but they want to make sure everyone is aware of how dangerous it could be.
A major U.S. Air Force base is in the path of what could soon be Super Typhoon #Neoguri: http://t.co/qt5M9ZVhKl pic.twitter.com/FvONNy962h
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) July 6, 2014
“I can’t stress enough how dangerous this typhoon may be when it hits Okinawa,” Brigadier General James Hecker said on Sunday. “This is not just another typhoon.”
JMA officials say that millions of people are in danger and hope that their warnings are not ignored. Experts say that storms as strong as the super typhoon only happen about once every ten years.
Do you think the typhoon will be as bad or as dangerous as the experts are predicting?
Image via Wikimedia Commons