The season's 15th typhoon, one of the most powerful in years, spun northward over the East China Sea on Monday after plowing through Okinawa, where it caused blackouts and injuries.
The storm system, dubbed Bolaven, brought much of the traffic in and around Okinawa to a standstill as domestic airlines continued grounding most flights. But despite Bolaven's strength, local officials said no major damage had been reported so far.
The typhoon's maximum wind velocity reached 159.12 kph on Amami Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, and 149.4 kph in the Okinawa village of Izena, weather officials said.
At noon, the typhoon was proceeding north-northwest a speed of 20 kph and had an atmospheric pressure of 950 hectopascals at its center, the Meteorological Agency said, noting Okinawa Island had been in the storm zone for about 30 hours since early Sunday morning.
Okinawa Electric Power Co. said that a maximum of 17,800 households were without power Monday morning and that about 61,700 homes were without electricity on Amami Island.