Japan issues evacuation advisories to people as typhoon nears

Japan's authorities issued evacuation advisories to 530,000 people on Tuesday from the projected path of powerful Typhoon Neoguri in the country's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said Neoguri, the strongest-level typhoon for a July, is moving northward over the East China Sea after approaching the Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture.
The agency issued emergency warnings for gusts and high waves in the island and adjacent islets, saying waves up to 14 meters could hit the region, adding the storm it could hit the southern main island of Kyushu as early as Wednesday.
As of 3 p.m., Typhoon Neoguri was heading north around 110 kilometers west-southwest of Kume Island at a speed of 30 km per hour (kph), with an atmospheric pressure of 945 hectopascals at its gusts of up to 216 kph, the agency said.
The typhoon also caused cancellations of all flights to and from Okinawa, according to the airlines. About 6,500 households in Okinawa Prefecture were without electricity on Tuesday morning. Neoguri, whose name means raccoon in Korean, is the season's eighth typhoon in Japan.