By Joseph Campbell and Kim Kyung-Hoon
ISHIGAKI, Japan, July 10 (Reuters) – 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.
Typhoon Bavi is expected to pass very close to Japan’s Sakishima Islands, a remote island chain near Taiwan that is part of Okinawa Prefecture, early on Saturday morning, according to meteorological authorities. Maximum sustained winds were topping out at 162 kph (100 mph), and local residents on Ishigaki, one of the islands in the chain, were taping up windows and draping windproof nets across homes and shops.
Airlines grounded dozens of flights in the region. Japan Airlines said it had cancelled more than 100 flights for Friday and Saturday, affecting nearly 20,000 passengers. Rival carrier All Nippon Airways cancelled more than 160 flights through Sunday, disrupting travel for roughly 20,000 people.
Nearly 900 buildings in Okinawa Prefecture were without power as of 0600 GMT.
On Ishigaki, a popular tourist destination, residents stocked up on supplies, emptying shelves of instant noodles at a local supermarket. Some public beaches, 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.”
At the supermarket, local resident Eiken Ishigaki filled his shopping basket with snacks and beer, concerned about potential power outages and expecting to be stuck at home on Friday night and Saturday.
Kazuo Akaishi, a tourist from Ibaraki Prefecture northeast of Tokyo, was waiting at the ferry terminal, hoping to leave for a nearby island. But he had been forced to extend his stay on Ishigaki, as all services for Friday and Saturday appeared to have been cancelled.
“I’ve never experienced a direct hit like this. I’ve been here when typhoons passed nearby, but nothing this severe,” said the 47-year-old tourist.
TAIWAN READIES FOR DELUGE OF RAIN
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.
Bavi is not expected to make landfall in Taiwan but will dump huge amounts of rain on the island — some areas could get up to one metre (3.3 feet) of rain — starting late on Friday.
The government said more than 1,000 people have been evacuated, mainly from the mountainous eastern coast, and nearly 29,000 military personnel were on standby to help relief efforts.
“Although the typhoon has weakened slightly and has been downgraded to a moderate typhoon, its storm radius is large and it may still bring strong winds and heavy rain to many areas,” Taiwan President Lai Ching-te wrote on his Facebook page.
Taiwan’s airlines have cancelled all of their flights on Saturday from the main international airport at Taoyuan outside Taipei. Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong’s flagship carrier, also cancelled weekend flights between Hong Kong and Taiwan and some to the eastern Chinese coastal cities of Hangzhou, Ningbo and Fuzhou.
TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it would delay the scheduled release of its June sales data from Friday to Monday.
Late on Saturday, Bavi is forecast to make landfall around the eastern Chinese city of Wenzhou, home to 10 million people.
(Reporting by Joseph Campbell and Kim Kyung-Hoon in Ishigaki; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei, Joe Cash in Beijing and Julie Zhu in Hong Kong; Writing by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Tom Hogue)
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