A typhoon passing near the southern prefecture of Okinawa could bring strong winds and high waves to western Japan over the three-day weekend, the weather agency said Saturday, warning of possible landslides caused by heavy rains.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said Typhoon Tapah is expected to head to the Tsushima Strait in southwestern Japan and then move to the Sea of Japan on Sunday.

Two people were swept away while surfing in Miyazaki Prefecture on the southwestern main island of Kyushu, with a 60-year-old man confirmed dead and another unaccounted for. In Okinawa, 19 people were injured.

[As of 10 p.m. Sept. 21 / Japan Meteorological Agency]


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Kyushu Railway Co. and airliners suspended part of their operations, while Okinawa Electric Power Co. said up to 40,000 households were briefly without electricity in the prefecture.

As of 10 p.m. Saturday, the season's 17th typhoon was traveling north in the East China Sea off Okinawa's main island at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour, according to the agency. It had an atmospheric pressure of 970 hectopascals at its center and was packing winds of up to 180 kph.

More than 120 millimeters of rain was recorded falling in a single hour on Saturday morning around the city of Miyazaki.

Winds of up to 162 kph are expected in northern Kyushu through Sunday, while rain of up to 400 mm is expected in southern Kyushu and up to 300 mm in northern Kyushu in the 24-hour period through 6 p.m. Sunday, according to the weather agency.