Typhoon Mekkhal Approaching Eastern Japan

Tokyo, June 27 (Jiji Press)–Typhoon Mekkhal is expected to approach the Kanto region of eastern Japan on Saturday night after moving east-northeast off the coast of the Tokai central region. The seventh typhoon of the year is forecast to become an extratropical cyclone off the east coast of Kanto before dawn Sunday. The Japan Meteorological Agency has warned of heavy rain and high waves, and urged caution against strong winds. Meanwhile, Typhoon Higos, the eighth typhoon, turned into an extratropical cyclone off Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, around 9 a.m. Saturday after passing along the coast of the Boso Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo. A seasonal rain front is stretching over Kanto and Tokai, bringing strong winds and heavy rain. East Japan Railway Co., or JR East, decided to cancel services on some sections of the Sobu, Uchibo, Sotobo and other lines throughout the day. A Level 4 urgent warning for landslides was issued for the Chiba city of Tateyama, the city of Miura, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo, and the city of Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan. A maximum instantaneous wind speed of 29.3 meters per second was recorded on the remote Tokyo island of Izu Oshima in the Pacific around 4:35 a.m. Saturday and 29.1 meters per second in the Chiba city of Katsuura around 5:45 a.m. In the Sakahata district of the Chiba city of Kimitsu, 163.0 millimeters of rain fell in the 12 hours to 3:40 p.m., a June record for the area. At 3 p.m., Typhoon Mekkhal was moving east-northeast at 55 kilometers per hour over waters about 240 km southwest of the Shizuoka city of Omaezaki. With a central atmospheric pressure of 994 hectopascals, the typhoon logged a maximum sustained wind speed of 20 meters per second and a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 30 meters per second. Wind speeds were 15 meters per second or more in areas within 330 km southeast and 165 km northwest of the center of the typhoon. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]