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.
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NEW: "It's been a long and rough night," storm chaser says
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Bolaven crosses over Okinawa
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It is the strongest typhoon in the region since 1956
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Typhoon Bolaven's cloud field is about 20 times the length of Okinawa
Storm surges were expected to be a major problem for @placeholder.