Typhoon Trami lashes Japan with 104 mph winds, rain

Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Typhoon Trami, the equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane, drenched Japan with heavy rain, uprooted trees and cut power to many homes Saturday.

The center of the storm was located about 37 miles west of Okinoerabu Island in Kagoshima prefecture at around 10 p.m.

It had sustained winds of 104 mph, a public advisory said, and it was churning north of Okinawa into Kyushu and Honshu.

The storm cut power to about 200,000 homes on Japan's southern islands, and uprooted tress and overturned vehicles as it pummeled Okinawa city.

The powerful storm also resulted in 380 flights being grounded and the evacuations of more than 600 people to emergency shelters.

The storm was expected to make its way north to the country's main islands Sunday, NHK reported. Trami was expected to make landfall Sunday morning in southern Kyushu.

The storm has been moving north-northeast at a speed of around 15 mph, Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The islands may receive more than 3 inches of rain per hour, forecasters said.

Forecasts predict up to 15 inches of rain for Amami, and up to nearly 8 inches of rain for Okinawa in 24 hours through Sunday evening.

It is expected to maintain strength as it nears Japan's west and east Sunday evening.