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A large and powerful typhoon approached a remote chain of islands in Japan’s southwest on Friday, prompting authorities to warn of violent winds, torrential rain, landslides and flooding in what could be the region’s most destructive storm in years.
Early on Friday, Typhoon Bavi was nearing Japan’s Sakishima Islands — a remote chain of islands near Taiwan — with maximum sustained winds of 162 kph (100 mph), prompting locals to tape up windows and drape windproof nets across homes and shops.
n Ishigaki, one of the islands in the Sakishima chain popular with tourists, residents stocked up on supplies, emptying shelves of instant noodles at a local supermarket. Some public beaches and coastal parks and the local ferry terminal appeared closed.
“I heard that this one will be pretty big,” said Hiroshi Nomura, as he strung windproof nets across his bicycle rental store. “I’m a little concerned about whether our typhoon preparations are enough.”
In neighbouring Taiwan, financial markets closed for the day, with a large swathe of the north and east also off work. The Taipei city government set up stations for residents to collect sandbags.
