Typhoon Dolphin hits Okinawa as China closes ports ahead of landfall

Typhoon Dolphin has struck Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture, injuring six people and cutting electricity to more than 50,000 buildings, while Chinese authorities have closed ports and suspended ferry services before the storm is expected to reach the country’s east coast.

Five elderly people in Okinawa suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Three of them fell because of the powerful winds. A further person was injured in Kagoshima prefecture, according to local authorities.

The storm brought maximum sustained winds of 162 kph (90 mph), with gusts reaching 216 kph.

Power cuts affected nearly 39,000 buildings in Kagoshima and just over 12,000 in Okinawa. ANA and Japan Airlines cancelled domestic flights to and from Okinawa as the typhoon moved through the region.

Okinawa and Amami island, which is part of Kagoshima prefecture, are expected to be the main areas affected in Japan.

Dolphin is forecast to reach China’s east coast between late Sunday and early Monday. Chinese authorities have classified it as an orange-category typhoon, the country’s second-highest warning level.

The emergency response level for the storm was also raised by one step to level III, the second-lowest level, because of concerns over flooding and landslides.

China’s National Meteorological Center said Dolphin was most likely to make landfall between Zhoushan city in Zhejiang province and Fuding city in Fujian province.

Winds close to the centre of the typhoon are expected to reach 38-45 metres per second (85-101 mph).

China’s National Marine Forecasting Center retained its highest, red-level warning for coastal waves on Saturday. It forecast waves of between 5 and 8 metres (16 to 26 feet) in waters off Zhejiang through Sunday afternoon.

An orange-level warning was in place for coastal waters off Shanghai and northern Fujian, where waves could reach between 3 and 5.5 metres.

Chinese authorities issued five weather and disaster warnings on Saturday evening. They included orange alerts for the typhoon, heavy rain and geological-disaster risks, as well as a red alert for mountain torrents.

Eastern China is expected to experience heavy rain and strong winds through 12 August, including in parts of Shanghai and neighbouring provinces. Some areas could receive short periods of rainfall of more than 80 mm an hour, alongside thunderstorms and powerful winds.

Zhejiang, one of China’s largest provincial economies and a major manufacturing and export centre, raised its coastal typhoon alert to its highest level and stopped port operations.

Authorities in eastern and southern China suspended ferry services, halted some construction work and instructed fishing boats to return to port.

Ningbo Lishe International Airport in Zhejiang said all flights would be suspended on Sunday. Shanghai’s Yangshan port had been cleared of vessels by late Friday, while some rail services in the Yangtze River Delta are due to be suspended from Sunday.

Authorities in Beijing said they were monitoring the typhoon’s progress and preparing flood-control and evacuation plans for the capital.

Taiwan also cancelled 78 flights, most of them international, because of the storm. Heavy rain was forecast for northern parts of the island over the weekend, although no evacuation orders had been issued by Saturday.

China has instructed ships travelling through the Taiwan Strait to follow its traffic-control directions because of the typhoon. Taipei condemned the measure as “ridiculous”, arguing that Beijing has no right to restrict access to international waters.

China regards democratically governed Taiwan as part of its territory and claims the strategically important Taiwan Strait. Both Taipei and Washington reject that claim.