Typhoon Mekkhala Nears Okinawa's Main Island

Tokyo, June 26 (Jiji Press)--Typhoon Mekkhala moved close to the main island of Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan, on Friday morning and is expected to approach the Amami Islands region in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima in the night.

The seventh typhoon of the year is seen traveling northeast off the Pacific coasts from the southwestern region of Kyushu to the eastern region of Kanto on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Typhoon Higos, the eighth typhoon, headed north over the sea south of Okinawa's Minamidaito Island on Friday and is expected to approach the Tokai central region and Kanto, and may make landfall on Saturday.

Heavy rain is forecast in many parts of the country also because a seasonal front is spanning from eastern to western Japan. The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of possible landslides, flooding in low-lying areas and swollen rivers.

At 9 a.m. Friday, Typhoon Mekkhala was moving north-northeast at 20 kilometers per hour over the sea some 120 km north of the island of Kumejima in Okinawa.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]