Neoguri moves across Okinawa

Late Tuesday, the government of Okinawa announced that Neoguri, still bearing sustained winds of 100 miles per hour despite being downgraded from a super typhoon, had killed at least two people and left 17 injured so far, one of them seriously. Torrential rains could cause further damage if the typhoon, the eighth of the season, moves across the Japanese archipelago as expected on Thursday or Friday.

"Please refrain from nonessential activities and from approaching hazardous areas," said Satoshi Ebihara, an official for the Japan Meteorological Agency. "Please show extreme caution."

Bracing for the worst, authorities canceled flights and closed airports ahead of the storm. Authorities in China and Taiwan have also warned ships to stay clear of the typhoon's path.

Evacuations advised

Authorities advised nearly 600,000 of Okinawa's 1.2 million residents to evacuate their homes, though most didn't - despite waves up to 14 meters (46 feet) high and storm surges set to intensify as the typhoon passes the main island overnight and heads north toward Kyushu. Almost 100,000 homes remained out of electricity by late Tuesday.

The US military houses more than half of the 50,000 troops it keeps in Japan at several sites in Okinawa, including at the Kadena Air Base, the country's biggest in Asia. The military has prohibited outdoor activity during the storm and evacuated aircraft.

Forecasts show the storm tracking toward Kyushu and then across Japan's main island of Honshu and predict that it will lose more of its power over land, but heavy rains could still trigger landslides or flooding. The storm comes at the tail end of Japan's summer rainy season, elevating such risks.

The typhoon got its name from a Korean word meaning "raccoon dog," a knee-high tree-climbing canid common in East Asia.

mkg/rc (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)