Tropical storm nearing Japan, landfall likely

Tokyo, Aug 17: Tropical storm Wukong ploughed north towards Japan today, threatening prolonged heavy rains ahead of landfall seen likely late in the evening, or around 1200 GMT.

Wukong -- meaning Monkey King, a legendary Chinese hero -- was 90 km east southeast of Miyazaki, 893 km southwest of Tokyo, and heading north-northwest at 20 km an hour, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The storm had winds of up to 83 km an hour at its centre and was expected to bring up to 400 mm (16 inches) of rain to some parts of Kyushu, Japan's southernmost main island, by tomorrow morning.

Landfall on southern Kyushu was likely on Thursday night or possibly early tomorrow, a Meteorological Agency official said.

''The storm will probably weaken slightly once it hits land, but since it is moving very slowly caution is needed in regard to rain, which is likely to be prolonged and heavy,'' he added.

The storm was likely to continue towards the eastern Chinese provinces of Shandong and Jiangsu, possibly making landfall there as a tropical depression early next week.

Reuters