A large, powerful typhoon hit Japan's southern island prefecture of Okinawa on Wednesday, leaving one dead and more than a third of households without power, as the weather agency warned of expanded damage from the slowly moving typhoon.
At least 35 people were injured, three of them seriously, due to strong winds, according to the prefectural government, while the local utility said around 220,000 households were affected by the outage at one point in the afternoon.
A 90-year-old man died in a hospital after being trapped under his garage that collapsed Tuesday night, apparently due to the violent winds, police said.
Typhoon Khanun, the sixth of the season, is expected to slow over the East China Sea while maintaining its strength.
While the typhoon is forecast to continue to affect Okinawa with storms and high waves on Thursday and beyond, the Japan Meteorological Agency said it could also affect areas on Japan's southwestern main island of Kyushu if it changes course to the east.
The typhoon has caused transportation disruptions, with All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines canceling a total of over 200 flights, primarily landing and departing from Okinawa on Wednesday, affecting more than 40,000 passengers.
Some Thursday flights to and from Okinawa, as well as Kagoshima Prefecture in the southern tip of Kyushu, have also been canceled.
As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, the typhoon was west of Kume Island, moving west-northwest at 15 kilometers per hour. The storm had an atmospheric pressure of 935 hectopascals at its center, packing winds of up to 234 kph.
The typhoon is also expected to bring torrential rain, with precipitation of up to 200 millimeters in Okinawa and 100 mm in Amami-Oshima Island in Kagoshima over the 24 hours through 6 p.m. Thursday.
Related coverage:
Okinawa braces for powerful typhoon, flights canceled
Powerful typhoon Khanun sets course toward Japan's Okinawa
