TOKYO, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- A powerful typhoon which is threatening the eastern coast of Japan including the nation's capital Tokyo, has caused the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) on Tuesday to issue flood warnings, as well as advisories of heavy thunderstorms, strong gusts and swollen rivers.
Typhoon Chanthu, the seventh of the season, is expected to bring torrential rains to the east and northeast of Japan through Wednesday, with the storm currently located just short of 200 km kilometers east-southeast of the subtropical Hachijo Island, which is administered by Tokyo.
The island, part of the Izu chain of volcanic islands which stretch south and east from the Izu Peninsula of Honshu, has experienced strong gusts of up to 180 kilometers per hour, with sustained winds of 72 kilometers per hour, the JMA said Tuesday.
The agency also said that as of this afternoon, the typhoon had an atmospheric pressure of 990 hectopascals at its eye and was heading in north-northwesterly direction at 25 km per hour.
Through noon Wednesday, the typhoon is expected to bring downpours of as much as 250 millimeters to both the Kanto and Tohoku regions of Japan, before passing through the northernmost island of Hokkaido on Wednesday evening.
The typhoon is thereafter expected to be downgraded from a typhoon to an extratropical cyclone, the JMA said, as it heads out to the Sea of Okhotsk by Thursday morning.
However, its current northward trajectory from the Pacific, south of Tokyo, will likely see the storm skirt the capital, with gusts and heavy rainfall possibly disrupting transportation networks in the metropolis, the weather agency said.
The public has been warned by the weather agency to be prepared for possible flooding, landslides and dangers associated with particularly strong gusts hitting Wednesday morning.
