Super typhoon Lan hits Japan, with flooding rains and mudslides

World (Tokyo) – Super typhoon Lan was bearing down on Japan Saturday, a day ahead of national elections, with experts predicting severe winds and heavy rains as the country goes to the polls, vying for a majority of the 465 seats in the Lower House of the Diet.

Japan’s Meteorological Agency described it as ‘very large’ and ‘very strong’ packing gusts up to 252 kilometres (157 miles) per hour, as per Agence France report.  It would move just east of Okinawa Sunday before grazing the country’s coastal areas, possibly directly hitting Tokyo bay around 6 am local time on Monday, Oct 23. Not only is the storm’s centerline forecast take it directly over Tokyo, but also the US military installation at Yokosuka. The Tokyo metro area houses 37.8 million people, about 30% of the Japanese population. While the strongest winds from Lan will still be offshore, there may still be enough rain pouring down on Sunday to lead to areas of flooding and mudslides on the mainland.