Tokyo and its surrounding areas were due for heavy rain and strong winds Sunday as powerful Typhoon Saola headed toward the Izu island chain, the Meteorological Agency said Saturday.
As of 9 p.m., the 17th typhoon of the season was about 220 km south-southwest of Hachijo Island in the Izu island chain, heading north-northeast at 20 kph, the agency said.
Saola, with a barometric pressure of 950 hectopascals and winds up to 144 kph near its center, was projected to reach 70 km east-northeast of Hachijo at 9 a.m. Sunday and 230 km east-southeast of Choshi, Chiba Prefecture, at 9 p.m. Monday.
The agency said Tokyo was unlikely to take a direct hit as the typhoon was expected to skirt the capital to the east.
Up to 250 mm of rain was expected in the Izu chain and 150 mm of rain in the Kanto region in the 24 hours to noon Sunday.
The agency warned against waves 6 meters or higher as well as winds of more than 70 kph Sunday in the Pacific coastal areas of the Kanto, Tokai and Kinki regions.
Saola is the Vietnamese word for a forest-dwelling ox.
Japan has been hit by a series of typhoons this year. Typhoon Nabi left 27 people dead or missing as it crisscrossed Japan earlier this month.