Japan’s southern islands prepare for Tropical Storm Mawar

• As Tropical Storm Mawar approaches Japan’s confederate Okinawa islands, businesses, fishermen, and the region’s airdrome are taking precautions.
• Tropical Storm Mawar was antecedently a typhoon but is inactive packing precocious upwind speeds of up to 66 miles per hour.
• However, galore residents successful Naha connected the main Okinawan island, wherever 20,000 U.S. forces are based, appeared unworried of the approaching storm.

A weakened Tropical Storm Mawar headed toward Japan's confederate archipelago of Okinawa connected Thursday, starring businesses and the airdrome to adjacent and fishermen to batten down their boats successful preparation.

Many residents successful the prefectural superior of Naha connected the main Okinawan island, wherever astir 20,000 U.S. forces are based, appeared unworried adjacent arsenic they took precautions.

Mawar, formerly a typhoon but present packing winds of up to 66 miles per hour, was astir Miyako, 1 of Okinawa’s distant islands, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The tempest could attack Okinawa’s main land connected Friday and bring almighty rainstorms to the region, it said.

TYPHOON MAWAR HEADS TO JAPAN, LASHES EASTERN TAIWAN AND NORTHERN PHILIPPINES ON THE WAY

A 76-year-old fisherman, Tatsunori Yamashiro, said helium wasn't excessively disquieted by the weakening storm.

"All I tin bash present is to wait," helium said, sitting successful his sportfishing boat, which he'd securely tied to a larboard facility. He said Mawar could person caused harm if it deed Okinawa erstwhile it was a typhoon. "It’s present weakening, and due to the fact that the h2o somesthesia astir Okinawa is not precise high, it volition proceed to get smaller.

Mawar mostly skirted Taiwan and the Philippines aft tearing crossed Guam past week. It passed by Taiwan connected Tuesday with sustained winds of 96 mph and gusts of up to 118 mph, sending precocious waves crashing connected the island's eastbound coast.

As Tropical Storm Mawar approaches, sportfishing boats are secured by enactment astatine the Tomari fishery larboard successful Naha successful the main Okinawa land of confederate Japan connected June 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

In the Philippines, authorities said dense rains were expected to proceed successful the country's northbound done astatine slightest Thursday and warned of flooding, imaginable landslides and gale-force winds earlier the typhoon exits the country's country of responsibility.

Another fisherman successful Okinawa, Ryo Niinuma, 27, said helium tied up his vessel and cushioned its sides truthful that it wouldn’t get bumped by boats adjacent to it.

"We are utilized to typhoons," helium said. "This 1 seems to beryllium a spot aboriginal this year, but we’ve had bigger ones successful the past."

GUAM ‘VERY BLESSED’ AS TYPHOON MAWAR LEAVES WITH NO REPORTED DEATHS

People connected Okinawa had been preparing for the approaching typhoon erstwhile a informing siren awoke them Wednesday to alert them to a North Korean rocket launch. Officials urged radical to enactment indoors oregon instrumentality structure underground successful lawsuit of falling debris.

The rocket failed and did not travel anyplace near Japan, but residents already anxious astir the typhoon said it added to their stress.

Japan had deployed a fig of PAC-3 land-to-air interceptors connected confederate islands up of the launch, but immoderate of them were kept connected basal alternatively of being acceptable up astatine intended locations owed to information precautions up of the typhoon.

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The U.S. military, which has troops stationed astatine aggregate facilities connected Okinawa, volition instrumentality preparatory enactment arsenic the tempest draws closer, depending upon need, said Capt. Brett Dornhege-Lazaroff, spokesperson for the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force connected Okinawa.

"Our installations are tracking the tempest closely," helium said.

Mawar lashed Guam past week, becoming the strongest typhoon to deed the U.S. Pacific territory successful much than 2 decades, flipping cars, tearing disconnected roofs and knocking retired power.

In the Philippines, much than 8,000 radical had been evacuated from flood- and landslide-prone communities to exigency shelters oregon relatives' houses but galore returned location connected Wednesday arsenic the upwind started to clear. No large harm was reported.