Japan's southern island of Okinawa was bracing for a powerful typhoon expected to slam into the region Saturday, the Japanese Meteorological Agency said. A storm warning was issued as Typhoon Songda, the first major storm to threaten the region this year, was forecast to hit Okinawa Saturday night, 1,600 kilometres south-west of Tokyo. The typhoon is expected to pass over the south-western part of the country Sunday, dpa reported. The typhoon had maximum sustained winds of 144 kilometres per hour and gusts of 216 kph, the agency said. It was expected to bring downpours accompanied by rainfall of 60 millimeters per hour. The rain intensified on the islands of Miyako and Ishigaki, leaving some 15,700 households without electricity. The typhoon was moving toward the disaster-struck north-eastern Japan and heavy rain and strong winds have been forecast for the region. Thousands of people had been evacuated on the eastern coasts of the Philippines this week ahead of the storm, but it and Taiwan were spared direct hits from Songda on its way to Japan. Both were lashed by heavy rains and strong winds. The eye of Songda was about 300 kilometres off Taiwan's east coast at 0300 GMT Saturday, moving in a north-easterly direction toward Okinawa at 31 kilometres per hour, Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said.
