A fairly strong typhoon is moving in the direction of the quake-prone Izu Islands and may bring torrential rain and cause massive landslides in a few days, the Meteorological Agency warned Wednesday.
The typhoon, the third this season, has winds of up to 162 kph and an atmospheric pressure of 940 hectopascals at its center, agency officials said, noting that winds of 90 kph or more are expected within a 220 km radius.
If the typhoon takes a course close to the islands -- which include Kozu Island, recently rocked by a magnitude-6 earthquake -- it may bring 200 mm to 300 mm of rain and winds of 54 kph on Friday, the agency forecast.
The seas around the islands will also turn rough. Today, the maximum height of waves is expected to be 3 meters but will likely rise as high as 7 meters to 9 meters on Friday.
The typhoon was about 600 km south of Minamidaito Island in Okinawa Prefecture at 9 a.m. Wednesday, the agency said. It was moving north-northeast at a speed of 20 kph.
The typhoon is expected to maintain its current strength and reach waters some 500 km south of Kozu Island at 3 p.m. Friday.
One person on Kozu was killed when the quake struck the island Saturday. Since then, the island has been experiencing repeated seismic activity.
On Wednesday, three fairly strong earthquakes with estimated magnitudes of 4.8 to 5 jolted the islands of Kozu, Miyake and Niijima.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the temblors, which struck at 6:51 a.m., 11:21 a.m. and 12:42 p.m.
The first quake registered 4 on the 7-point Japanese intensity scale in Kozu and Miyake. The second was a 4 in Kozu and Niijima, while the third also registered as 4 in Kozu, the agency said.
The focuses of the three quakes were located off the three islands.