Japan urges 590,000 people to evacuate over typhoon

Japanese authorities have urged some 590,000 people to evacuate and have preserved the issued highest alert on the islands in the southern part of Japan over typhoon Neoguri.
Airports closed and residents were evacuated from low-lying areas and shorelines as Typhoon Neoguri was passing through Okinawa, packing sustained winds of 175 kilometers (108 miles) per hour and gusts up to 250 kph (154 mph), the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
The storm was due to hit the main Okinawan city of Naha Tuesday evening. The national broadcaster said one woman had suffered a head injury due to the storm and one fisherman was missing after he was swept off a boat in seas near the southern island of Kyushu.
Officials said the storm could be one of the strongest to hit Japan in decades, generating waves up to 14 meters (46 feet) high. But since typhoons track along Japan's coasts and occasionally veer onshore every summer, the country is relatively well prepared.
The typhoon, which has been downgraded from super typhoon status, was about 220 kilometres (136 miles) west of Okinawa's main island as of noon (0300 GMT), according to the weather agency.
The storm was moving north at about 50 kilometres (31 miles) per hour, it said.
The storm could reach the southern main island of Kyushu late Wednesday or early Thursday, with the weather agency warning that the amount of rainfall by Thursday could reach as much as 400 millimetres (16 inches), posing a serious risk of landslides and flooding.