Powerful typhoon heads north towards Okinawa

TOKYO - Powerful typhoon Ewiniar headed north in the western Pacific Ocean towards Japan's southern Okinawa island chain on Wednesday, and officials said winds in the area were likely to strengthen from early on Friday.

Ewiniar, which means "storm god" in the Chuuk language of Micronesia, was east of the Philippines and had winds of up to 180km per hour at its centre as of early Wednesday.

It was moving north at 15km an hour, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.

"We don't expect Okinawa to feel the impact of its winds until sometime on Friday," an official said.

- REUTERS