Powerful typhoon approaches southern Japan

A powerful typhoon was approaching southern Japan Saturday with more than 100,000 residents advised to evacuate their homes in the region, news reports said, according to dpa.
Typhoon Halong already brought heavy rains and strong winds to the southern island of Kyushu and the south-western island of Shikoku as the Japan Meteorological Agency warned of mudslides, high waves and swollen rivers in the region.
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled, stranding many passengers at the airports in the summer vacation season.
The typhoon was projected to make landfall on Shikoku late Saturday.
As of 3 pm (0600 GMT), the eye of the storm was 160 kilometres south-south-west of Cape Ashizuri on Shikoku, travelling north-north-east at 15 kilometres per hour (kph), the agency said.
It was packing maximum sustained winds of 126 kph and gusts of 180 kph, it said.
Rainfall of up to 700 millimetres was forecast for Shikoku by mid-day Sunday, up to 600 millimetres for the Kinki and Tokai regions and as much as 300 millimetres for northern Kyushu.