TOKYO, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Japan's weather agency on Wednesday said a powerful typhoon is making its way north from the Nagasaki region to the northern part of Japan's main island of Kyushu, while a sever tropical storm is also approaching the country from a different direction.
Typhoon Maysak, which has already pummeled Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa injuring eight people, is moving north at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour, Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.
According to the agency, the powerful storm has a central atmospheric pressure of 940 hectopascals and is packing winds at its core of up to 162 kilometers per hour.
Maysak's maximum instantaneous wind velocity was clocked at 234 kilometers per hour, the JMA also said in issuing its warning of people to be vigilant for gusty winds, high waves, storm surges, as well as possible landslides, flooding and swollen rivers.
Shinkansen bullet train services have been temporarily suspended as a result of the typhoon between Hiroshima and Hakata stations on the Sanyo Shinkansen Line.
West Japan Railway said the suspension of the service will continue until at least 8:00 a.m. local time on Thursday.
The JMA said Typhoon Maysak will likely to continue on a northern trajectory towards the northern area of Kyushu through Thursday, with unstable atmospheric conditions in western Japan leading to thunderstorms and torrential downpours.
The island has already begun to be lashed by strong gusts of winds, the JMA said as the typhoon is gathering in strength. The agency said it would likely approach northern Kyushu on Wednesday evening.
Through Thursday, Kyushu, Shikoku and Tokai regions are likely to be pummeled by downpours of up to 80 millimeters per hour while also being struck by thunderstorms, the JMA said.
The weather agency also said for the 24 hours through Thursday morning, up to 300 millimeters of rain is expected in the Shikoku region, and as much as 250 millimeters in Kyushu and Tokai.
Over the 48-hour period through Friday morning, meanwhile, Shikoku and Tokai may well be inundated with between 100 to 200 millimeters of rain, the JMA said.
The people of Kumamoto Prefecture are facing another possible disaster, having been battered by sustained heavy downpours in July resulting in dozens of people losing their lives.
The weather agency has also announced Wednesday that another powerful weather system is also bearing down on the archipelago but from a different direction.
The JMA said that this system, severe tropical storm Haishen, is on course to hit western parts of Japan in the days ahead and is currently making its approach from the Pacific.
Haishen is also packing tremendously strong winds, the weather agency said, and has the potential to dump record amounts of rainfall and deliver powerful gusts as it approaches and possibly makes landfall in western Japan. Enditem
