“Very strong” Typhoon Muifa approached several islands in southern Japan on Sunday, prompting local authorities to urge residents to take shelter from “strong waves and winds” before the storm makes landfall, Agerpres reported.

On Sunday afternoon, the typhoon was 180 kilometers south of Ishigaki (an island in the southern part of the archipelago, not far from Taiwan), packing gusts of up to 216 kilometers per hour and moving in a northwesterly direction, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. .

According to the agency, “Strong typhoon Muifa is expected to approach within a very short distance (to the Ishigaki area) on Monday. Strong waves and wind are expected in the region during Tuesday.”

As the typhoon’s speed may decrease but not its intensity, “the region may suffer long-term effects,” the agency said.

Authorities in Okinawa – a prefecture made up of more than 150 islands in southern Japan – have asked elderly people living on Ishigaki and other islands in the region to take shelter before the typhoon approaches.

“I would like to ask everyone to be vigilant in the face of strong winds and heavy rainfall … and take measures to protect their lives first,” Okinawa Governor Danny Tamaki said on Sunday.

According to the forecasts of the Japanese agency, after arriving in Ishigaki, Muifa will move to the north and to Shanghai, China.