Vongfong Weakens; Dozens Injured, Evacuations Advised After High Winds, Rain Lash Okinawa

As of 11 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Vongfong was downgraded to a tropical storm. 

Just days after Typhoon Phanfone left three American servicemen dead on Japan's Okinawa Island, Typhoon Vongfong battered its shores once again with ferocious winds and drenching rain before weakening overnight on Sunday local time. At least 31 people were injured in the storm, according to Japanese News Network NHK. 

About 50,000 American troops are stationed in Japan, and nearly half of them are on Okinawa at Kadena Air Base, the Associated Press reports. 

(MORE: Here's When Vongfong Is Expected To Hit Japan)

NHK reported that 53,000 households in Okinawa and more than 50,000 in Kagoshima were experiencing blackouts as of Sunday morning. Authorities also advised the evacuation of 90,000 households in Okinawa and 2,700 in Kagoshima Prefecture due to the possibility of flooding and mudslides. 

On Saturday, huge waves lashed the shores of Okinawa as the initial rain bands of the storm moved ashore. A man in his twenties had his fingers severed when high winds slammed a door shut. Several elderly people In Okinawa City and Uruma sustained injuries in falls, according to the Okinawa Times. More injuries were reported in Ginowan, Yomitanson and Yaese-cho. 

Officials at Kadena Air Base raised the Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness, or TCCOR, to level 1. All non-emergency personnel will remain inside until the storm has passed, according to a post on the air base's Facebook page.

According to Stars and Stripes, servicemen and women at Kadena Air Base were told to discontinue all outdoor activities with Vongfong nearby. Many base facilities have closed to hunker down for the storm, the report added.

(WATCH: Here's What To Expect From the Tropics in the Coming Weeks)

Areas of Japan have received massive amounts of rainfall in past months, and the slow, plodding nature of Vongfong could raise the risk of deadly landslides and flooding yet again, Reuters added.

Preparations took a serious tone after last week's tragedy on the base. Three airmen were killed by the raging seas off the coast of Okinawa in the wake of Typhoon Phanfone. The bodies of all three men have been recovered.

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Typhoon Vongfong Batters Okinawa