Rains hit southern Japan island

TOKYO, Sept 02 (AP): An offshore typhoon brought torrents of rain to southern Japan on Wednesday heading to the Korean Peninsula as another storm in the Pacific was growing stronger.

Typhoon Maysak was west of Japan, maintaining sustained winds of 162 kilometers per hour (100 mph) with higher gusts, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Japan's main southern island of Kyushu was warned of heavy rainfall, fierce winds and possible mudslides.

The storm brought down trees and overturned cars on Okinawa on Tuesday. More than 700 home were still without electricity, according to Okinawa Electric Power Co.

Hundreds of flights were canceled in South Korea ahead of Maysak, while North Korea scrambled to protect its buildings, roads and crops from the second typhoon to hit their peninsula in as many weeks.

South Korea's weather agency said the typhoon will affect most of the country.