Japan canceled more than 200 flights and suspended dozens of train services as the country braced for a pair of tropical storms approaching from different directions on Friday.
Storms Mekkhala and Higos were moving in from the southwest and the east, respectively, and were likely to converge over or near the main archipelago.What path is tropical storm Mekkhala on?
Mekkhala, which was previously rated as a typhoon but was since downgraded to a severe tropical storm, already skirted past Taiwan and the Japanese island of Okinawa far to the south of the main islands on Friday.
Taiwan, to the southwest of Okinawa, suffered heavy rains while flights from Okinawa's Naha Airport were severely disrupted.Flights from Naha airport in Okinawa were severely disrupted on FridayImage: Kazuki Wakasugi/AP Photo/picture alliance
Despite the downgrade, the storm was still packing wind gusts of up to 144 kilometers (89 miles) per hour on Friday afternoon.
