Tokyo: Super Typhoon Hinnamnor is brewing.
The strongest global storm of 2022 is gathering steam across the South China Sea and is likely to approach the southern islands of Japan and China’s east coast.
Weather reports on Thursday suggested that Hinnamnor has a wind speed of 160 miles per hour with gusts over 195 miles per hour.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency said that going by the maximum speeds recorded till Thursday morning, Hinnamnor could be the strongest global storm of the year.
According to Hong Kong Observatory, the storm was located about 230 km east of Okinawa in Japan at about 10 am local time and was moving west-southward.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JWTC) in the US had earlier predicted Hinnamnor could lose steam in the days ahead. But according to latest reports citing JTWC officials, Hinnamnor has regained the status of Category 5 super typhoon with winds of 160 mph and pressure of 915 mb.
“The seas in the Daitojima region are extremely rough. Weather officials forecast rough seas also around Okinawa’s main island and Amami region, and on Sakishima Islands on Thursday,” Japan’s NHK World reported.
Met department has warned about swelling of rivers and flooding in parts of Japan as the typhoon is expected to become stationary south of Okinawa on Friday and then move north to come closer to the prefecture.
Heavy rainfall reaching up to 150 mm in Hokkaido, 120 mm in Tohoku, 100 mm in Tokai and 80 mm in Kansai regions of Japan is expected over a 24-hour period.
