Typhoon Goni shuts down Okinawa

Typhoon Goni, the 15th typhoon of the season, is approaching Okinawa’s main island today after hitting Iriomote and Ishigaki islands southwest of Okinawa Sunday night.

The Japan Meteorological Agency expects the typhoon affect Okinawa from about noon to early evening as it makes its way to Kyushu on Tuesday.

The agency warned of strong winds, high waves and heavy rain on Okinawa main island today.

U.S. Military bases on Okinawa are closed for all non-essential activity until further notice.

On Ishigaki Island, a maximum wind speed of 71.0 meters per second was registered on Sunday evening, the strongest on record. It also dumped 65 millimeters per hour rain on the island.

According to Ishigaki officials, some minor injuries have been reported as over 100 people took shelter. A about 21,500 houses on Ishigaki and surrounding islands lost power, but it has been mostly restored, according to Okinawa Electric Power Co.

In Naha, Okinawa Monorail stopped running at 10 a.m. Departures at Naha Airport continued until 10 a.m. excluding flights to Ishigaki and Miyako, which were cancelled. Most of the arrivals, except the 9 a.m. arrival of Tiger Air flight from Taipei and some flights from mainland Japan were cancelled.

23:42 28 Mar , 2024