Powerful typhoon approaching W. Japan

Typhoon Nangka. [Photo/NASA]

The 11th typhoon Nangka is heading for Shikoku island in west Japan and is expected to make a landfall there late Thursday, with Japan's weather agency issuing heavy rain and gale warnings to the area.

Over 4,000 residents in Kochi Prefecture on the island were advised to evacuate their home in case of landslides triggered by the powerful typhoon, said local reports.

Over 100 flights linking Tokyo and the Shikoku island were canceled, and some railway services were also suspended in western Japan. Parts of expressway west of Tokyo have also been closed due to high tides and heavy rain, according to local reports.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), the typhoon is affecting almost all the areas alongside Japan's Pacific coast from Tohoku area to Kyushu region.

The JMA forecasts that rainfall would total 800 mm on Shikoku, 600 mm in Osaka, Nagoya and their vicinities and 300 mm in Tokyo and its surrounding region in the 24 hours through noon Friday.