Vongfong passes over Okinawa, 31 injured

Typhoon Vongfong passed over Okinawa, Saturday, injuring 31 people, most of them slightly, and brought with it copious amounts of rain. The typhoon had largely left Okinawa by Sunday morning and was heading for Kyushu and Shikoku areas in Mainland Japan, which it is expected to reach early Monday morning.

Although the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center downgraded Vongfong from a super typhoon status as it moved along, it said it remained “large and very strong” and warned of gusts, high waves, torrential rain and landslides. Packing gusts of up to 234 kph (145 mph), Vongfong was moving north slowly at just 15 kph (9 mph) although it’s expected to pick up speed as it moves on. It came just a week after typhoon Phanfone that left 11 people dead or missing.

Although according to reports 31 people were injured by the storm, most suffered only bruises and minor cuts. A 9-year-old girl in Itoman suffered the most serious injury when a house door slammed on her fingers cutting one of them off. A 20-year-old man in Naha suffered the same fate.

A gust of wind fell down a 85-year-old woman in Ozato who broke an arm. A 90-year-old woman in Uruma also fell and broke her thigh.

Property damage was also minimal. In Tancha, Motobu, a landslide at a junkyard pushed a work shack on the road blocking half of it. A fence fell down because of a small landslide in Shuri, and another landslide damaged a house in Ginowan.

In Ojana, Ginowan City, a large tree fell down on a parked car on a parking lot smashing it. No one was in the car at the time of the incident.

51,000 households throughout the island experienced a power outage, mostly in Uruma, Nanjo, Nakijin and Motobu. Vongfong was the season’s 19th typhoon.

  • matt99

    All clear on the BC.

  • ben

    People aren’t smart. 145 mph winds and they go out like it’s a summer breeze. Stay inside.

11:38 27 Apr , 2024