Taiwan braces for Typhoon Mawar as Japan advances

Typhoon Mawar slammed Taiwan's eastern coast with wind, rains and large waves on May 30, but largely skirted the island after giving a glancing blow to the northern Philippines. The storm was slowly advancing toward southern Japan.

With waves crashing on the shoreline, residents of the Taiwanese fishing town of Yilan secured boats and homes against the stormy conditions.

Although the fast-moving typhoon has lost some of its ferocity since smashing into Guam last week, forecasters in the Philippines said Mawar remained dangerous, with maximum sustained winds of 155 kmh and gusts of up to 190 kmh.

I m on the roof, but I m not being blown away by the wind, said Juliet Cataluna, a Batanes provincial official in the coastal town of Ivana. I wish we 'll really be spared from damage, our livelihood, our agricultural produce and our houses. After seeing earlier predictions that Mawar would be stronger, the townspeople in Ivana, Ivana, placed sandbags on their tin roofs and covered glass windows with wooden boards. Cataluna said that she wrapped her avocados with sack cloth to prevent them from blowing off trees.

The town leaders used motorcycles to deliver constant typhoon updates and fortunately, only light rains and occasional wind gusts have hit Ivana, she said.