Monster Waves Pound Japanese Island Cape as Typhoon Champi Nears

Towering waves smashed into the rocky tip of a remote Japanese island, turning the sea white with foam as powerful Typhoon Champi churned toward Okinawa.

X user iguanarock4126 filmed the scene from Hennazaki Lighthouse on Miyakojima’s Higashi-Hennazaki cape on October 21. Huge breakers roll in under a heavy grey sky and explode against the cliffs on both sides of the narrow headland, while the walking path below is surrounded by churning water.

“A high wave warning has been issued. The typhoon is coming soon,” the filmer wrote, adding that the night was also the peak of the Orionid meteor shower. Japan’s weather agency issued the high wave warning for Miyakojima at 4:14 p.m. local time, forecasting waves of up to 6 meters (around 20 feet) that day and even rougher seas over the following days.

Typhoon Champi, the 30th named storm of the season, was described by forecasters as a large and violent typhoon. It was expected to approach the Sakishima Islands, including Miyako and Ishigaki, around October 23 and 24, bringing violent winds, heavy rain and a possible storm surge.