CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Super Typhoon Nida, packing walloping winds of 185 mph, was some 660 miles southwest of Okinawa on Tuesday night and moving north at 7 mph.
The storm will remain some 156 miles to the east of Okinawa at its closet point of approach Thursday morning, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The strongest winds on the island are expected to be up to 46 mph.
However, the typhoon now is forecast to hit Tokyo and the Kanto Plain head-on Friday afternoon.
And even though Nida will have lost most of its punch by then, Tokyo still can expect to experience heavy rains and sustained winds of 75 mph, gusting to 92 mph, according to the forecast. Nida is a common name for women in Thailand.
U.S. military bases on Okinawa remained in Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 3 on Tuesday. Winds of 23 mph were forecast to hit the island midday Wednesday and gradually increase through the night, according to information provided by Kadena Air Base’s 18th Weather Flight.
In the Philippines, a fisherman was missing and more than 11,000 people were displaced as the storm ripped through the country.
Heavy rains whipped up by 105 mph winds triggered landslides that wiped out three coastal villages, leaving 700 families homeless, according to wire reports.
