Tokyo, Sept. 18 (Jiji Press)–Typhoon Dujuan is expected to approach the Kanto region in eastern Japan, which includes Tokyo, on Monday, and the Japan Meteorological Agency is urging caution against heavy rain, strong winds and high waves. The large-scale typhoon, the 25th typhoon of the year, neared Japan’s Ogasawara island chain in the Pacific on Friday afternoon and is expected to move northward. The agency called for vigilance in Kanto, the Tokai central region, the Pacific side of the Tohoku northeastern region, and Tokyo’s Izu islands. JMA forecaster Yoshikazu Yano said that there are thick clouds to the north of the typhoon, which could bring rain ahead of the typhoon’s approach and increase cumulative rainfall. Yano said that the typhoon could cause disruptions to public transport, in addition to landslides and flooding in low-lying areas. “People who are planning leisure activities or returning to their hometowns during the holiday period should respond flexibly, including by changing their plans,” he said, referring to the five-day holiday period through Wednesday. Typhoon Dujuan is expected to move away from Japan toward waters east of Tohoku from Monday night and transform into an extratropical cyclone by Tuesday afternoon. At 3 p.m. Friday, the typhoon was moving west-northwest at 35 kilometers per hour about 170 km south-southeast of Chichijima, an island in the Ogasawara chain. It had a central pressure of 975 hectopascals, a maximum sustained wind speed of 30 meters per second and a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 45 meters per second. Wind speeds were 25 meters per second or more within a 110-km radius of the typhoon, and 15 meters per second or more in areas extending up to 750 km to the northeast and 390 km to the southwest. In the 24 hours until 6 p.m. Sunday, rainfall is seen reaching up to 200 millimeters in Kanto and the Izu islands and 150 millimeters in Tokai. In the following 24 hours until 6 p.m. Monday, the maximum amount of rain is forecast at 300 millimeters in Tokai and 200 millimeters in Kanto, Tohoku and the Izu islands. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
