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Powerful typhoon approaches Japan’s main island

19 July 2011 03:33 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Japanâ€™s main island of Honshu was bracing for a large and powerful typhoon Tuesday with the Japan Meteorological Agency warning of strong winds, heavy rains and tidal waves on the Pacific side, APA reports quoting monstersandcritics.com website.

Typhoon Ma-on was located 100 kilometres south of Kochi prefecture on the southern island of Shikoku, as of 9:50 am (0050 GMT), traveling northwards at 20 kilometres per hour, the agency said.

A storm warning was issued as the typhoon was forecast to hit western Japan early Wednesday. It brought local downpours of 50 millimetres per hour in the Kyushu, Shikoku and Tokai regions.

The typhoon had maximum sustained winds of 144 kilometres per hour and gusts of 198 kilometres per hour, the agency said.

Tokyo Electric Power Co, which runs the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, put a makeshift protective covering over a reactor building Monday.

The operator installed three 5-metre-long and 16-metre-wide steel sheets to cover holes in the turbine building of reactor 3 to prevent rain from entering them, the Nikkei business daily reported. The work was expected to continue Tuesday to cover small holes in the building.

The building was severely damaged by a hydrogen explosion three days after the plant was hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The plant has leaked radioactive substances into the environment since the disaster.