35 injured as strong typhoon batters Okinawa

The monster storm hit the southern Okinawan islands on Saturday and is now moving toward the main Kyushu and Honshu islands, where it is due to make landfall as early as Monday morning, the national weather agency said.

Vongfong-the season's 19th typhoon-was in the southern area of Kagoshima at midday Sunday, the meteorological agency said, placing it around 230 kilometers west of Amami-Oshima island, Kazinform refers to Japan Today.

It is packing gusts of up to 180 kilometers per hour as it moves north-northwest.

"The typhoon is expected to make landfall on Kyushu on Monday morning," meteorologist Hiroshi Sasaki told reporters

Authorities issued landslide warnings and strong winds knocked out power lines, temporarily halting bullet train service for several hours on Kyushu.

At least 35 people have been injured in Okinawa, including a man in his 20s and a nine-year-old girl who had their fingers cut off by doors slamming due to ferocious winds.

The typhoon came just a week after another strong tropical storm whipped through the country, leaving 11 people dead or missing.