A powerful typhoon was approaching Japan's southern islands Thursday, having already left 10 injured amid torrential rains and strong winds, local media reported. The 10 people suffering injuries so far were on the islands of Miyako and Okinawa. In each case, they had fallen as they were battered by stiff winds, dpa reported. The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of mudslides, high waves and swollen rivers in the prefectures of Okinawa and Kagoshima, as Typhoon Chan-Hom was projected to move closer to Okinawa's main island, 1,600 kilometers south-west of Tokyo, from midnight (1500 GMT) to Friday morning, it said. As of 8 pm, Chan-Hom, the ninth typhoon of the season, was 230 kilometers south of the Okinawa prefectural capital of Naha, travelling north-west at 20 kilometers per hour (kph), the agency said. Chan-Hom had maximum sustained winds of 144 kph and gusts of 198 kph, the agency said. About 2,800 households suffered power outages on Okinawa. The island's schools have been closed and dozens of flights and ships cancelled, the paper said. Rainfall of up to 300 millimeters was forecast for Okinawa, while up to 200 millimeters was expected for the Amami Islands region by Friday evening, the agency said.
