Weather threat looms over Asian Games as Typhoon Surigae moves toward Honshu
The strengthening storm could bring heavy rain and strong winds to Aichi and central Japan just as the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 enters its final week.
Rescue workers take an inflatable boat to rescue a stranded resident after Typhoon Dujuan brought torrential rain to Sakura, Chiba prefecture, Japan, on Sept. 22.
REUTERS/YONHAP
Typhoon Surigae is bearing down on Japan just as the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 enter their second half. The storm could bring strong winds and heavy rain to Aichi and other parts of central Japan and may affect the remaining competition schedule.
Surigae was moving north-northeast at 15 kilometers per hour (9.3 miles per hour) over waters south of Okinawa as of 6 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).
The storm had a central pressure of 975 hectopascals with maximum sustained winds of 35 meters per second (78 miles per hour) near the center and gusts of up to 50 meters per second.
Surigae is expected to strengthen as the storm moves north and approach Okinawa and the Amami Islands in Kagoshima Prefecture on Tuesday while maintaining strong intensity.
Strong winds are already affecting Okinawa, where waves are forecast to reach 6 meters (20 feet). The JMA also warned that the storm could bring rainfall heavy enough to trigger weather warnings, depending on its path.
The Korea Meteorological Administration, South Korea's weather service, expects maximum sustained winds near the center of Surigae to strengthen to around 39 meters per second around Monday. The typhoon is then expected to turn northeast and move along waters south of the Japanese archipelago.
Whether Surigae will directly hit Aichi remains uncertain. The projected path, however, could bring the storm close to Aichi and other parts of the Chubu region around Thursday and Friday, which could affect the Asian Games schedule. The Asiad closes next Sunday.
Rain clouds associated with the typhoon could also move over areas that host competition venues and athlete accommodations. The storm’s path remains fluid, so both the affected area and the severity of the weather could change.
Separately, a seasonal rain front is forecast to bring rain across a wide area of Honshu from Kyushu to the Chubu region on Sunday. The JMA warned that some areas could see linear rainbands, which can produce intense rainfall and raise the risk of landslides, flooding and swollen rivers.
“Surigae” is a name submitted by North Korea and refers to the black kite, a bird of prey.
BY BAE JAE-SUNG [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
