Japan's Ryukyu Islands brace for flooding rain, gusts over
160 km/h from strengthening Nepartak
Typhoon Nepartak (named Butchoy in the Philippines), will target Japan's Ryukyu Islands with
flooding rain and high winds later this week. Taiwan, eastern China and South Korea will also be
threatened.
Nepartak continues to gain strength after ending the record
for longest stretch without a named tropical storm in the northwestern Pacific
Ocean on Sunday.
The environment is more than conducive for Nepartak to
become a strong typhoon with its strength equal to that of a major hurricane in
the Atlantic or eastern Pacific basins by Thursday.
Lives and property will be severely threatened as Nepartak
tracks across or dangerously close to the Ryukyu Islands of Yaeyama and Miyako
on Thursday afternoon and night.
These islands will face flooding rainfall of 125-250 mm
(5-10 inches) and destructive winds with gusts of 160-210 kph (100-130 mph),
according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Adam Douty.
Seas will become dangerously rough for shipping interests
around the islands as Nepartak approaches. The islands will also be subject to
coastal flooding, especially near and east of Nepartak's track.- Accuweather
Meanwhile, as of 10 am, July 5, Nepartak/Butchok PH was 1,570 kilometers east of Baler,
Aurora, moving northwest at 30 kilometers per hour (km/h). According to PAGASA it has maximum winds of 120 km/h and gustiness of up to 150
km/h.
The typhoon is expected to bring moderate to heavy rains to
areas within its 300-km diameter.
It will enhance the southwest monsoon. In the
past, enhanced monsoon rains triggered floods in the country. But as of 2 pm PAGASA
