Typhoon Dolphin battered Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture on Saturday, injuring six people and leaving more than 50,000 buildings without power, as China closed ports and suspended ferry services ahead of the storm’s expected arrival along its eastern coast.
Five elderly people in Okinawa suffered non-life-threatening injuries, including three who fell because of strong winds, while another person was injured in Kagoshima prefecture, authorities said.
Nearly 39,000 buildings in Kagoshima were without power, while just over 12,000 in Okinawa were affected. Japan’s two major domestic carriers, All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, canceled flights to and from Okinawa.
Dolphin had maximum sustained winds of 162 kph (101 mph), with gusts reaching 216 kph (134 mph).
Okinawa and Amami Island in Kagoshima prefecture were among the main areas expected to be affected in Japan.
In China, where the typhoon was expected to make landfall between late Sunday and early Monday, authorities designated Dolphin as an orange-category typhoon, the second-highest level.
Concerned about the risk of flooding and landslides, authorities also raised the emergency response level for Dolphin by one notch to Level III, the second-lowest level.
The typhoon was most likely to make landfall between Zhoushan in Zhejiang province and Fuding in Fujian province, with winds of 38-45 meters per second (85-101 mph) expected near its center, according to China’s National Meteorological Center.
Ports and airports halt operations
Rain and strong winds were expected to affect eastern China through Aug. 12, including parts of Shanghai and neighboring provinces. Some areas of eastern Zhejiang could receive more than 600 millimeters (23.6 inches) of rain, according to forecasters.
Zhejiang raised its coastal typhoon alert to its highest level and halted port operations. Authorities in eastern and southern China also suspended ferry services, halted some construction work and ordered fishing boats back to port.
Ningbo Lishe International Airport in Zhejiang said it would suspend all flights Sunday. Shanghai’s Yangshan Port had been cleared of vessels by late Friday, while some rail services in the Yangtze River Delta were to be suspended Sunday.
Beijing authorities said they were closely monitoring the typhoon’s path and preparing flood-control and evacuation plans for the capital.
In Taiwan, 78 flights, mostly international, were canceled because of the typhoon, the government said. Heavy rain was expected in northern parts of the island over the weekend, though authorities had not ordered evacuations as of Saturday.
China ordered ships passing through the Taiwan Strait to follow its traffic control instructions because of the typhoon, measures that Taipei denounced as "ridiculous,” saying Beijing has no right to restrict access to international waters.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and claims the strategic strait. Both Taipei and Washington reject that claim.