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TOKYO: Typhoon Dolphin struck Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture on Saturday, injuring six people and disrupting power supplies to more than 50,000 buildings, while China closed ports and suspended ferry services ahead of the storm’s expected landfall on its eastern coast.
Five elderly people in Okinawa suffered non-life-threatening injuries, with three reportedly hurt after falling amid powerful winds. Another person was injured in Kagoshima prefecture, where nearly 39,000 buildings were without electricity. More than 12,000 buildings in Okinawa also experienced power outages.
The typhoon recorded maximum sustained winds of about 162 kilometres per hour, with gusts reaching 216 kph. Okinawa and Amami Island in Kagoshima were among the areas most affected in Japan. Major domestic airlines, including ANA and Japan Airlines, cancelled flights to and from Okinawa.
China has designated Dolphin an orange-category typhoon, the country’s second-highest warning level, as the storm is forecast to make landfall between Zhoushan in Zhejiang province and Fuding in Fujian province late Sunday or early Monday.
Chinese authorities raised the emergency response level to III and ordered extensive precautionary measures amid concerns over flooding, landslides and powerful winds. Zhejiang suspended port operations, while ferries were halted and fishing vessels ordered back to shore.
Ningbo Lishe International Airport said it would suspend all flights on Sunday, while Shanghai’s Yangshan port had been cleared of vessels. Some rail services in the Yangtze River Delta were also scheduled to be suspended. Forecasters warned that parts of eastern Zhejiang could receive more than 600 millimetres of rain.
Taiwan has also experienced significant disruption, with 78 flights cancelled as the typhoon passed north of the island. Heavy rainfall was expected in northern Taiwan, although no evacuation orders had been issued as of Saturday.
The storm has also generated a political dispute over maritime traffic in the Taiwan Strait. China instructed vessels entering the strait from the south to follow traffic-control measures because of the typhoon. Taiwan condemned the move, arguing that Beijing has no authority to restrict navigation in international waters.
Authorities across the affected region are continuing to monitor Dolphin’s trajectory and prepare for heavy rainfall, flooding, landslides and strong winds as the typhoon moves toward China’s eastern coastline.
