Typhoon Shanshan Heads for Japan, Posing $10 Billion Threat

Typhoon Shanshan is set to strike western Japan Wednesday, causing as much as $10 billion in damage and losses from winds, storm surge and flooding rains.

Shanshan was 590 miles (950 kilometers) south of Kochi, Japan with top winds of 80 miles per hour, making it a Category 1 storm on the US five-step, Saffir-Simpson scale, the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. It is forecast to become a very strong typhoon or a Category 3 storm as it approaches Japan’s coast later this week, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.