Japan Braces For 300-Mile-Wide Typhoon

Japan is set to be battered by 150mph winds amid growing fears a super typhoon could trigger deadly landslides and flash floods.

Typhoon Phanfone has been getting progressively stronger as it sweeps north across the Pacific Ocean, increasing from a category three to category four typhoon.

The 300-mile-wide storm will reach Japan on Sunday, bringing with it increasingly torrential rain.

And after dozens of deaths following three previous typhoons in Japan this year, forecasters say further devastation is possible.

Its current track is expected to see it make landfall early next week, producing very heavy and persistent rainfall as well as strong winds across much of the country.

Current estimations are for the winds to reach around 150mph with 180mph gusts at their peak by tomorrow.

These winds however, will be felt mainly offshore from Japan, but the country is braced for large amounts of rainfall.

Current models suggest that behind the menace of this typhoon another area of high potential tropical storm development is to follow.

Sky News Weather Producer Rebecca Yussuf said: "It was a category three this morning but has since strengthened into a category four, which is the second strongest, with a category five classed as a super typhoon.

"It's still in an area where there are the conditions for it to strengthen further, which is why people are talking about super typhoon. There is the potential for a super typhoon."

Organisers of the F1 Grand Prix in the northern city of Suzuka are also monitoring developments closely, with concerns the event could be disrupted by the weather.

Yussuf said the typhoon would make landfall in the southern Japanese islands on Sunday, but it would hit the mainland on Monday.

"The system by then is expected to be around 300 miles across and will weaken as is makes landfall," she said.

"We're likely to see sustained winds of around 125mph and gusts of 150mph and there'll be huge waves and storm surges at the coast.

"There will also be very heavy rain - between three and 10 inches. Particularly given the landscape in Japan, that kind of rainfall can cause flash flooding and landslides.

"We've already seen three typhoons in Japan so far this year, which have led to dozens of deaths, so people will inevitably be concerned we could see similar problems.”

More than 36 people died in mudslides that hit Hiroshima in August , while at least 10 people were killed by Typhoon Halong earlier that month.