Japan Gripped By Heat Wave As Typhoon Approaches
A heat wave continues to grip western and eastern Japan, with the daytime temperature topping 39 degrees Celsius in Hyogo Prefecture in the west on Sunday.
Temperatures rose to 39.2 degrees in Hyogo's Nishiwaki City, and over 38 degrees in the town of Hatoyama in Saitama, as well as Takahashi City in Okayama, and Ogaki City in Gifu.
Weather officials are warning of heat stroke, with elderly people especially at risk. They are calling on people to drink plenty of water and use air conditioning.
Meanwhile, the Meteorological Agency says that east of the Philippines, Typhoon Maysak was moving north-north-east at about 10 kilometers per hour at midday on Sunday.
It is expected to gain strength and approach Japan's southern island prefecture of Okinawa from Monday to Tuesday.
Weather officials are warning that as of Monday noon, the typhoon will be packing maximum winds of 180 kilometers per hour, with gusts reaching 252 kilometers per hour.
Experts say such powerful gusts could destroy wooden houses and damage buildings with steel frames. They say such winds could also topple electric poles and brick walls, and overturn trucks.
