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Chanthu typhoon heading straight for Russia’s Sakhalin

This is the second typhoon to hit the Sakhalin region in August

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, August 17. /TASS/. A storm warning has been issued for the Sakhalin and Kuril Islands in the Russian Far East over the Chanthu typhoon approaching from Japan.

The regional government has already held a meeting of an emergency commission and all forces are on alert.

"The typhoon is now in the area of Japan. At night it will reach the southernmost part of the Sea of Okhotsk and will reach the eastern coast of Sakhalin. We expect that intense rain will fall in the south of Sakhalin and the precipitation may reach 30-50mm. The gusts of wind may be 25 m per sec and up to 27 m per sec in the north," chief forecaster of the Sakhalin meteorological center Lyudmila Alekseyeva said.

The typhoon is expected to reach the territory of the Sakhalin region in the small hours of Thursday. Heavy rain is expected in the Kurils by Wednesday evening and the wind can grow to hurricane at night in the South Kuril area.

"The cyclone will be swift-passing, it will affect the southern areas this night and in the first half of the day tomorrow. During the day it will move to the north and on August 19 it will leave the territory of Sakhalin in the direction of the Magadan region," Alekseyeva said.

More than 100 medical teams are ready to provide urgent assistance if needed.

A storm warning has been issued for all 12 tourist groups in the region, consisting of 200 people, including 130 children. Most tourists are currently visiting the Kuril Islands (Iturup, Kunashir and Shikotan) and Sakhalin’s Korsakovsky, Anivsky and Dolinsky districts.

This is the second typhoon to hit the Sakhalin region in August. A week ago, the Omais typhoon reached the Kuril Islands, bringing heavy rainfall. Some 92mm of precipitation was registered in Kurilsk, Iturup.