http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackage...9&section=news

Japan braces for typhoon Chaba
Fri 27 August, 2004 09:31

By Elaine Lies

TOKYO (Reuters) - Typhoon Chaba has churned slowly northeast towards
Japan, downgraded from "super typhoon" status but still powerful and
threatening further damage to areas battered by a deadly typhoon just
over a week ago.

The storm, which has already claimed two lives, is heading for Okinawa
and Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu, with heavy rains
predicted to rake a wide swathe of western and central Japan over the
weekend.

Two men, one out surfing, were killed in western Japan on Thursday
after being swept away by high waves spawned by the storm's approach.

Chaba, which means "hibiscus" in Thai, was around 340 km (210 miles)
southwest of Minamidaito island in Okinawa prefecture as of 3 p.m. (7
a.m. British time) and moving northeast at a rate of 10 km (6 miles)
an hour.

"That is about the speed of a person riding a bicycle," said an
official at Japan's Meteorological Agency.

"The slower a typhoon moves, the more potential for damage, since it
means the winds will blow for a longer time and the rain will be much
heavier," he added.

Winds near the storm's centre were gusting up to around 180 km (112
miles) an hour. Television footage showed huge waves crashing on
beaches and breakwaters, but there was still little rain.

The storm's expected course is similar to that of typhoon Megi, which
last week set off landslides and flooding that killed 10 people in
Japan and at least three in South Korea before heading out to sea late
last Friday.