Japan raised it highest typhoon alert on Tuesday as Typhoon Neoguri's powerful winds and torrential rains barreled through Okinawa. 

Packing gusts of up to 155 miles per hour, Neoguri damaged buildings and knocked down trees and power lines, rendering some 50,000 households without electricity.

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Air, land and sea transport were at a standstill as residents braced for the storm's wrath.

Okinawa's 1.2 million residents, including some 26,000 American troops and their families, were ordered to stay indoors or seek safety in community shelters as weather forecasters warned of strong winds and downpours that may bring about flash floods.

Japanese police say at least three people have been injured, while the coast guard reported that a 62-year-old fisherman was missing as of Tuesday afternoon.

Close to half a million residents who live in the direct path of the typhoon were being evacuated since the weekend.

The U.S. 18th Air Force wing at Okinawa's Kadena Air base, the largest American Air Force Base in the Pacific, began moving its aircraft to safer ground days before the typhoon's entry.

U.S. Air Force Commander James Hecker said Typhoon Neoguri is the biggest to hit Okinawa in 15 years, and urged his soldiers not to take its threat lightly.

Although Neoguri was downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane as it entered Miyakojima, it was expected to bring a lot of water to a region that has already been battered by rains since last week.

The Typhoon is set to cross Nagasaki by midday Wednesday, tracking eastward through the Honshu mainland, and could weaken as it reaches Tokyo on Thursday afternoon, according to forecasters at Japan Meteorological Agency.

TagsTyphoon Neoguri, Kadena Airbase, Okinawa typhoon, Japan typhoon