Typhoon lashes Japan islands and Taiwan, heading to China

Tokyo

 Typhoon Chan-hom lashed Japan's Okinawa island chain yesterday as it pushed towards Taiwan and on to China, leaving more than 20 people injured.

 Thousands were evacuated from eastern China in preparation for the storm which left five dead in the Philippines earlier in the week after heavy rains.

 The powerful typhoon - categorised as a "super typhoon" by some regional weather bureaus - was moving northwest of Miyako island of the Okinawan island chain yesterday afternoon, with recorded gusts of 234 kilometres (145 miles) per hour, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

 The typhoon is expected to keep moving northward, bringing rainstorms and waves as high as 12 metres (40 feet) at sea, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.

 As trees were uprooted and buildings battered at least 23 people were injured and 180 evacuated across the area, the Tokyo Broadcasting System broadcaster reported.

 The meteorological agency warned that strong winds and high waves would continue to pound the island chain where 42,000 households have been left without power.

 The storm left five dead in the Philippines, including three children, as it swept through from Tuesday with flooding almost a metre (three feet) deep in the northern island of Luzon and 1,500 people displaced.

 Chan-hom began to bear down on Taiwan Friday, where the weather bureau categorised it as a "severe typhoon".

 Four people have been injured so far, all of them by falling trees.