TOKYO (Bernama-Kyodo): A large and "violent" typhoon is moving westward near the Mariana Islands in the Pacific and may approach areas south of Japan's Okinawa later this week, according to the Japanese weather agency, Kyodo News reported.
Typhoon Bavi is forecast to move to areas east of the Philippines before approaching Okinawa Prefecture around Friday and Saturday. It is likely to head to the East China Sea afterwards.
The southern Japanese island may see torrential rainfall and possibly also high tides, depending on the typhoon's course, the Japan Meteorological Agency said Monday. Rough seas can be expected off the southern part of Japan's southwestern main island of Kyushu and islands to its south.
As of 3 am (local time) Tuesday, the season's ninth typhoon was moving west-northwest near the Marianas at a speed of 30 kilometres per hour, packing winds of up to 270 kph, and had an atmospheric pressure of 920 hectopascals at its centre, according to the Japanese agency.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Centre of the United States describes Bavi as a "super typhoon."
-- BERNAMA-KYODO
