Typhoon In-fa will hit southern Japan with strong winds and heavy rain

By Jackson Dill and Shawn Deng, CNN

Typhoon In-fa intensifies over the northwestern Pacific as it begins to hit parts of Japan. The storm is expected to devastate Taiwan and parts of China by this weekend.

That comes after Typhoon Cempaka rapidly intensified on approach to China’s southeastern coast on Tuesday, causing landfall about 240 kilometers southwest of. is achieved Hong Kong.

Cempaka is now overland and brings widespread rainfall of 4 to 20 inches to parts of Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan provinces. Isolated locations could get closer to 20 inches by Friday.

In-fa threatens Japan, Taiwan and China

Typhoon In-fa gains strength as it swirls westward over the Pacific Ocean.

Maximum sustained winds are 110 mph (175 km / h) as of the update on Wednesday at 11 a.m. ET (11 p.m. Hong Kong time) from the Joint Typhoon Warning Center.

The storm is approximately 160 miles (260 kilometers) from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa and brings rain and tropical storms to parts of the southern island of Japan.

This chance of rain will remain increased during this week as In-fa slowly travels west.

The slow nature of this storm will cause precipitation totals to increase significantly. Many of the southern Japanese islands will be at least 10 inches in total, with likely more than 20 inches at higher elevations.

“In-Fa will pass south of Okinawa, closer to Miyakojima, which was built to handle the accompanying rain and wind. The problem can arise if the system moves near Taipei, â€said CNN meteorologist Tom Sater.

Maximum winds near the center of In-fa are expected to hit 185 km / h in the southern Japanese islands by Thursday, when the storm can reach its maximum intensity.

“The mountain range in Taiwan could press up to a meter of rain over the region, while Taiwan has to contend with the worst drought in about 50 years. That amount of rain could lead to catastrophic flash floods and landslides, â€says Sater.

The prognosis for the next two to five days has become more certain. After In-fa headed west until Thursday morning (Friday morning Hong Kong time), they are expected to turn northwest.

This turn to the northwest should be done Friday morning (Saturday morning Hong Kong time) and offshore to avoid major impact on Taiwan.

Regardless, gusty winds and flash floods from heavy rain will be a major problem, with totals greater than 12 inches in the lower elevations and more than 20 inches in the mountains of Taiwan later in the week.

In-fa is expected to continue heading northwest after passing Taiwan in the north and possibly reaching eastern China this weekend. The current track indicates a possible landing near Wenzhou and Taizhou, which are on the Chinese coast.

“There is potential for Typhoon In-fa to slow down and stay offshore off the coast of China as it turns north after 72 hours,” says the JTWC.

The current forecast indicates that this weekend there will still be typhoon intensity with sustained winds near the center of the storm at up to 160 km / h. Heavy rain will remain a threat from this storm for its duration.

Record precipitation in east China before In-fa

Heavy rain in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou broke a record on Tuesday, according to the city’s meteorological office.

At least one person was reported dead and two missing in the floods in the Chinese city of Gongyi, Henan Province, according to the state-run CGTN news agency on Tuesday.

“The hourly rainfall and one-day rainfall this time broke the historic record of 60 years since the Zhengzhou Meteorological Bureau was founded in 1951,” the Zhengzhou Meteorological Department said in a video explaining the rainfall.

“The rainfall that the city had in the past three days was already equal to the total amount of precipitation that the city had in the last year,” said the ministry.

The average annual rainfall in Zhengzhou is over 25 inches, according to the office. According to their analysis of recent rains, the city saw 7.9 inches from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday. From 8 p.m. Monday through 8 p.m. Tuesday, the city saw 21.8 inches of rain; and from Saturday 8 p.m. to Tuesday 8 p.m. the city looked 24.3 inches.

The moisture associated with this rains can be linked to both Typhoons Cempaka and In-fa, despite being hundreds of miles from this part of China.

Torrential rains have hit the central Chinese province of Henan since Friday, affecting more than 144,660 residents, China’s state news agency Xinhua announced on Tuesday. More than 10,000 have been relocated to safer places.

The highest rainfall was recorded in Pingdingshan City, Lushan County, at 15.8 inches, Xinhua reports.

The CNN Wire
™ & © 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s Hira Humayun contributed to this report.