TOKYO – Southwestern Japan was on Friday bracing itself for the anticipated arrival of Typhoon Noru, which has been slowly making its way across the Pacific Ocean towards the island of Kyushu, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

At 2:00 pm (0500 GMT), the fifth typhoon of the season was about 150 kilometers (93.2 miles) east of the Amami Islands and about 240 kilometers south of Yakushima, south of the northern island of Kyushu, according to the JMA.

The storm could make landfall on Sunday, bringing winds of up to 216 kilometers per hour and heavy rains that could continue for a long period, given the typhoon’s slow pace.

According to JMA’s estimates, up to 350 millimeters of rain is expected in the Amami region in the next few hours until noon Saturday, 250 millimeters in southern Kyushu and 150 millimeters on Shikoku Island and in the Tokai region, in the central part of the country.

In July, Fukuoka and Oita prefectures in Kyushu were hit by heavy rains that caused floods and landslides, killing at least 36 people.

Typhoon Noru was categorized as a tropical depression on July 20 in the North Pacific Ocean, where it has been gaining strength and it became a “super typhoon” in late July.