Powerful Typhoon Neoguri Battered Okinawa

Japan urges thousands to evacuate as a powerful typhoon hits Okinawa with torrential rain and high winds. Katie Sargent reports

Powerful Typhoon Neoguri battered Okinawa on Tuesday bringing heavy rain and strong winds, high waves up to 14 meters (46 feet) high and storm surges that were set to intensify as the storm passed the main island of Okinawa in the evening.

The Okinawa government reported four people were injured, while a man was reported missing from a fishing boat in rough seas off Kyushu.

Typhoon Neoguri is one of the strongest and biggest typhoons to hit during Japan’s summer months.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said that Typhoon Neoguri was packing sustained winds of 194 kilometers (120 miles) per hour and gusts up to 240 kph (148 mph).

Local airports were closed and about 550,000 people were advised to evacuate their homes.

Forecasts show the storm tracking toward Kyushu island and then across Japan’s main island of Honshu. 

A man walks across a street amid strong winds in Naha, Okinawa, southern Japan, Tuesday, July 8, 2014. Powerful Typhoon Neoguri pounded across the southern Japanese islands of Okinawa on Tuesday, as residents took refuge from destructive winds, towering waves and storm surges. Airports closed and residents were evacuated from low-lying areas and shorelines as the typhoon passed over Okinawa, packing sustained winds of 175 kilometers (108 miles) per hour and gusts up to 250 kph (154 mph), the Japan Meteorological Agency said. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, CREDIT MANDATORY

Women walk in strong winds caused by typhoon Neoguri at Kokusai street, a shopping and amusement district in Naha, on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa, in this photo taken by Kyodo July 8, 2014. REUTERS/Kyodo

A powerful typhoon struck the southern Japanese islands of Okinawa on Tuesday, as residents took refuge from gale force winds, towering waves and storm surges. (July 8)