Okinawa troops bracing for Super Typhoon Nabi

[lebkuchen]

Base residents from Camp Kinser to Camp Hansen flocked to commissaries to stock up on essentials and began securing yard items Friday as Nabi strengthened into a super typhoon and continued making a beeline toward a midday Monday arrival.

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Equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane, Nabi has the potential to turn into a dangerous projectile “anything that one person could pick up and move,” Wilson said.

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In advance of the storm, commissaries at Kadena and nearby Camp Foster swelled with shoppers, some of whom stood in check-out lines for more than an hour. Their carts bulged with bottled water, milk and bread, which were being purchased faster than shelves could be restocked.

Kadena commissary administrator Doug Cook said he expected his store to do $380,000 in business over Thursday and Friday, when normally it takes in $200,000 over two days. His 70-person staff spent much of Friday trying to restock shelves.

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“It was incredible,” said store grocery manager Scott Holt. “And to top it off, our debit-credit computer system is down and the ATMs nearby ran out of money.”

At midnight Friday, Nabi was 673 miles southeast of Okinawa, churning west-northwest at 10 mph, packing sustained winds of 150 mph and gusts up to 184. Those are forecast to increase to 167 and 201 as the storm remains over warm water Sunday and Monday. If it remains on its current forecast track, Nabi’s center will pass 69 miles north of Kadena at noon Monday, bringing sustained winds of 161 mph and gusts up to 196.


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