The strongest storm of 2022 --- Super Typhoon Hinnamnor --- is whirling around East China Sea threatening lives in Japan's southern islands and risking wild winds.
Typhoon Hinnamnor is said to be the strongest one in 2022 based on the maximum sustained wind speed recorded at this point, according to an official at the Japan Meteorological Agency.
The storm is moving at a speed of 160 miles (257 kilometers) per hour and has gusts over 195 miles (314 kilometers) per hour. The US Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) added that the maximum significant wave height is 50 feet (15 meters).
The key components of the typhoon are warm tropical waters, pre-existing meteorological disturbance, moisture and mild winds.
The JTWC further added that the super typhoon will lose some of its strength over the coming days.
The Hong Kong Observatory on Wednesday said at 10 am the typhoon was centered about 230 kilometres east of Japan’s Okinawa and is forecast to move west-southwest at about 22 kilometers per hour toward the Ryukyu Islands.
The expanse of the ocean has only had two stormless Augusts in more than seven decades of record-keeping -- one in 1961 and the other in 1997, said Phil Klotzbach, lead author of Colorado State University's seasonal storm forecast, reports Bloomberg.
Projections indicate the storm will continue north toward the Korean peninsula next week, suggesting it will bypass Taiwan and the coast of mainland China, reports Mint.
Several flights, including Japan Airlines Co. and ANA Holdings Inc. across Japan, have been cancelled in Japan. The airline companies have said that flights could be affected for the next two weeks depending on the course of the typhoon.
