Typhoon’s edge lashes Okinawa

Press, 23 August 1979, Page 6

Typhoon’s edge lashes Okinawa

NZPA-Reuter Naha, Okinawa Okinawans huddled in their homes yesterday as Typhoon Judy swept the island with winds gusting to 88 km/h and sheeting rain. Streets and fields were empty as the typhoon, carrying winds of 95km/h near its centre, swept across the Western Pacific 160 km south of the Japanese island. Weathermen said the storm, which had been heading for the island, had veered to the west and was unlikely to come much closer to Okinawa. “Based on predictions of an aircraft sighting of the storm this morning, we expect the typhoon to dissipate over China,” said a meteorologist yesterday.

Judy was likely to skirt Okinawa and pass between the island and Taiwan. Heavy winds tore branches from trees, whipped the sea into a froth, and closed Okinawa’s airport at Naha. Ferry services to other of the Ryukyu islands were also cut, and the Japanese Coast Guard remained on alert for ship* in distress. The typhoon dispersed a big United States Navy fleet approaching Okinawa to land thousands of marines in a mock invasion this week. Military sources said the typhoon had interrupted the exercise, involving 40,000 men and ironically code named “Fortress Gale,” for a day.