Tokyo ( CNN ) -- A massive typhoon crossed over Okinawa on Sunday , bringing winds more ferocious than even the typhoon-weary Japanese island has seen in decades . Typhoon Bolaven , with wind gusts that reached as high as 259 kilometers per hour ( 161 mph ) , is the strongest to strike the region in nearly 50 years . And with a cloud field of 2,000 kilometers ( 1,250 miles ) , it is 20 times larger than Okinawa 's length . `` It 's been very , very severe , '' said storm chaser James Reynolds , who was on the northwestern coast of the island during the worst of the storm . Tree branches were flying through the air amid torrential rain , he said . Speaking to CNN early Monday morning on Okinawa , Reynolds said , `` It 's been a long and rough night . '' `` The eye of the typhoon actually crashed ashore just after dark . ... Like the rest of the population we all just kind of holed up in the strong and sturdy buildings which make up Okinawa , '' he said . The infrastructure on Okinawa is designed to withstand violent storms . `` Everything 's made of solid concrete , '' said Reynolds . The last storm of this scale was Typhoon Naha in 1956 . At 3 a.m. Monday local time ( 2 p.m . ET Sunday ) , Bolaven had winds of 194 kilometers per hour , with gusts at 240 kilometers per hour , CNN International meteorologist Jennifer Delgado reported . Bolaven could make landfall at the Korean peninsula on Tuesday morning , or potentially in South Korea on Monday night , Delgado said . Isaac near hurricane strength ; watch extends to Louisiana . In the meantime , rainfall totals in Okinawa could top 500 mm ( 20 inches ) in 24 hours , said CNN International meteorologist Tom Sater . Bolaven is `` roughly the size of France to Poland in land mass , '' said Sater . Time : Most destructive U.S. hurricanes . Storm surges were expected to be a major problem for Okinawa . More than 400,000 people in the area live at elevations less than 50 meters ( 164 feet ) . `` The large battering waves on both sides of Okinawa are going to be a threat to people living near the water , '' Reynolds predicted . `` But I think the worst has passed now . The storm is moving away and unfortunately it 's the people in the Korean peninsula who look like they 've got to prepare for the incoming storm . '' Taiwan , meanwhile , could be in for a pounding due to something called the Fujiwhara effect . Typhoon Tembin made landfall in southern Taiwan a few days ago , and was expected to work its way toward Hong Kong . But Bolaven , which is much stronger , has stopped Tembin 's movement toward Hong Kong and has been spinning it around . Tembin is likely to make a second landfall in southern Taiwan , also on Tuesday morning . `` As Typhoon Bolaven moves northward towards the Yellow Sea , it will drag Tembin toward the China coast very near Shanghai , '' said Sater . `` That 's an amazing change in direction . '' Are you there ? Share your stories , images and videos . Photos : Finding beauty in violent storms . CNN 's Ralitsa Vassileva and CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri contributed to this report .
NEW : `` It 's been a long and rough night for the United States of America. Bolaven crosses over Okinawa . It is the strongest typhoon in the region since 1956 . Typhoon Bolaven 's cloud field is about 20 times the length of Okinawa .