Severe Tropical Storm Chan - Hom Nears Japan
Japan's Meteorological Agency says Severe Tropical Storm Chan-hom is moving east-northeast along the Pacific coast.
Officials say it is now less likely to make landfall, but could bring localized downpours of more than 50 millimeters per hour to the Kii Peninsula and Izu Islands.
The officials urge people to be on the alert for landslides, flooding in low-lying areas, swollen rivers, violent winds and high waves.
The agency says it was travelling at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour over waters 220 kilometers south-southwest of Cape Shiono in central Japan as of 5 a.m. on Saturday.
It had a central atmospheric pressure of 985 hectopascals, and was packing maximum winds of 108 kilometers per hour near its center, with gusts of 144 kilometers per hour.
Atmospheric conditions on the Pacific side of western and eastern Japan are very unstable due to an active front near the storm.
