TOKYO, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa is again bracing for a powerful typhoon that may affect wider areas of Japan, the weather agency said Thursday, less than a week after a strong typhoon wreaked havoc in Japan and claimed four lives.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), Typhoon Kong-rey is approaching Okinawa's main island and is forecast to bring heavy downpours, strong winds and lightning strikes from Thursday evening to Friday.
Kong-rey has been clocked at moving at a speed of 20 km per hour, with an atmospheric pressure of 960 hectopascals at its center and packing winds of up to 198 kph, according to the JMA.
In the 24 hours to noon on Friday, Okinawa could see downpours of up to 200 mm and be pounded by winds of up to 162 kph, with waves rising as high as 10 meters, the weather agency said.
Southern Kyushu and the Amami island chain may see rainfall of up to 150 mm, the JMA said.
The current trajectory of Kong-rey will see it move from Okinawa in a northward direction toward the Korean Peninsula, the JMA said, before reaching coastal areas of the Sea of Japan.
Japan's 25th typhoon of the season is forecast thereafter to move over northern Japan over the three-day weekend, with the weather agency saying the requisite alerts will follow as necessary.
More than 400 domestic flights to and from Okinawa Prefecture have been canceled and the main airport terminal in Naha will be closed until Friday morning, prefectural officials said.
The majority of ferries and other vessels linking Okinawa's main island to nearby islands have also been canceled, local media reported.
