By Joseph Campbell and Kim Kyung-Hoon
ISHIGAKI, Japan, July 10 (Reuters) – A large and powerful typhoon approached a remote chain of islands in Japan’s southwest on Friday, prompting authorities to warn of violent winds, torrential rain, landslides and flooding in what could be the region’s most destructive storm in years.
Early on Friday, Typhoon Bavi was nearing Japan’s Sakishima Islands — a remote chain of islands near Taiwan — with maximum sustained winds of 162 kph (100 miles per hour), prompting locals to secure their homes and shops.
Airlines cancelled dozens of flights in the region, including for Saturday.
In Ishigaki, one of the islands in the chain popular with tourists, residents stocked up on supplies, emptying shelves of instant noodles at a local supermarket. Some public beaches, coastal parks and the local ferry terminal appeared closed, with some citing safety concerns ahead of the typhoon’s arrival.
“I heard that this one will be pretty big,” said Hiroshi Nomura, as he strung windproof nets across his bicycle rental store. “I’m a little concerned about whether our typhoon preparations are enough.”
The same windproof nets, along with taped windows, could be seen in establishments across Ishigaki.
In neighbouring Taiwan, financial markets closed for the day, with a large swathe of the north and east also off work. The Taipei government set up stations for locals to collect sandbags.
(Reporting by Joseph Campbell and Kim Kyung-Hoon in Ishigaki, additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei;Writing by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
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