Typhoon Vongfong batters Japan in strongest storm of year for country

Typhoon Vongfong hit southern Japanese islands with heavy rain and damaging winds Monday as the strongest storm to hit Japan this year continued to make landfall.

The storm came ashore in Okinawa on Sunday, then struck the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku early Monday morning, local time. The storm blasted Okinawa with 89 mph winds and 20 inches of rain. It disrupted travel, caused power outages and injured at least 37 people, according to NBC News.

Although Vongfong had weakened from its previous super typhoon status on Thursday by the time it struck land, it was still the strongest storm to hit Japan this year. After whipping through the southern islands, Vongfong was downgraded to the equivalent of tropical storm strength, with winds moving at 45 mph. More than 820,000 people have been advised to evacuate, Reuters reports.

The storm could reach the Tokyo area by early Tuesday morning.