U.S. bases scramble as Typhoon Fitow blows into Japan

Above is an animated gif of near-real time cloud movement in Japan, constantly updated by yahoo.co.jp.

U.S. military officials secured planes and ships, canceled or shortened school days and told some nonessential base personnel to stay home Thursday in preparation for Typhoon Fitow. The storm was expected to bring powerful winds and heavy rain to the Kanto Plain later in the day before moving toward Misawa Air Base in northern Japan. Stars and Stripes

Typhoon #9 (as known in Japan) is headed straight for Tokyo. I'm some 50 miles from the capital so we'll probably be under the full force of the tropical cyclone. It will make landfall approximately 9:00pm local time on Sept 6, 2007.

I'm still working but I don't expect anyone to show up. So it's a semi-day-off for me . I went to the supermarket earlier to stock up on water and instant noddles. I hardly ever drink bottled water and the last time I had a cup noddle was years ago. But heck with it coming head on, god only knows.

A typhoon is reportedly approaching the Japanese capital, Tokyo, sparking fears of flooding, landslides and high winds.

Japan's Meteorological Agency says at last report, Typhoon Fitow, was about 500-kilometres south of Tokyo, with wind gusts to 180 kilometres an hour.

The agency has warned of possible flooding in a number of areas, including western Tokyo, and issued landslide warnings for regions north of the capital.

The typhoon is forecast to strengthen before making landfall near the capital on Friday. radioaustralia.net.au