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Typhoon Dolphin Strikes Okinawa With 162 km/h Winds, Five Injured — AI-generated representative image: Emergency response amid powerful winds and heavy rain as Typhoon Dolphin strikes Okinawa, Japan, with winds reaching 162 km/h

Editorial Team

Japan's southern islands battered as China's Zhejiang and Fujian provinces suspend ports, flights, and schools ahead of projected Sunday-Monday landfall.

Typhoon Dolphin struck Japan's southern Okinawa Island on Saturday, injuring five elderly people and cutting electricity to approximately 14,000 buildings, before setting a course toward eastern China where authorities have launched emergency preparations for its expected landfall between late Sunday and early Monday.

The powerful storm, packing maximum sustained winds of 162 km/h with gusts reaching 216 km/h, threatens densely populated coastal regions including Shanghai and neighbouring Zhejiang and Fujian provinces. The typhoon arrives amid an already punishing summer in East Asia, where a record-breaking heatwave has claimed lives across Japan and South Korea.

Storm Impact and Emergency Measures

Okinawa Island and Amami Island in Kagoshima prefecture bore the brunt of the storm in Japan. The Okinawan prefectural government confirmed that five elderly people sustained non-life-threatening injuries, with three of them falling due to powerful winds. Widespread flight cancellations affected Okinawa as well as parts of China and Taiwan.

In China, Zhejiang province raised its coastal typhoon alert to the highest level, halted port operations and suspended 162 passenger ferry routes. Authorities in Ningbo ordered the closure of schools, educational facilities and all water-related activities for the weekend. Ningbo Lishe International Airport announced it would cease operations from 11:30 pm Saturday local time and suspend all flights on Sunday.

Shanghai's Yangshan port was cleared of vessels, while some rail services across the Yangtze River Delta face suspension starting Sunday. Taiwan cancelled 63 international flights, with heavy rain forecast for northern parts of the island, though no evacuation orders had been issued as of Saturday.

Storm Origins and Trajectory

Typhoon Dolphin originated as a tropical depression on July 26 over the Central Pacific Ocean, initially moving at 45 km/h across open waters. Over the following days, it intensified steadily, strengthening into a tropical storm, then a severe tropical storm, before reaching typhoon status and ultimately becoming a very strong typhoon by July 28.

As of 03:00 GMT on Saturday, the Japan Meteorological Agency located the storm approximately 160 km northwest of Kume Island in Okinawa, tracking northwest at 15 km/h. The China National Meteorological Centre projects landfall along the eastern and southern coast between Zhoushan city in Zhejiang province and Fuding city in Fujian province.

The typhoon, named after Hong Kong's Chinese white dolphin, coincides with a severe heatwave across East Asia. Three lions at a Japanese zoo died from suspected heatstroke, while South Korean authorities attributed more than 20 deaths to the extreme temperatures.

Forecast and Diplomatic Friction

Forecasters warned that rain and strong winds would affect eastern China through August 12, with parts of Shanghai and neighbouring provinces in the storm's path. Some areas of eastern Zhejiang could receive more than 600 mm of rainfall, according to meteorological projections.

China's national authorities declared a level-three emergency response, the second lowest in the country's four-tier system. In a separate development, Beijing ordered ships transiting the Taiwan Strait to follow its traffic control instructions due to the typhoon, a directive Taipei dismissed as "ridiculous," asserting that China has no authority to restrict access to international waters. China claims sovereignty over democratically governed Taiwan and considers the strategic strait its territory, a position Taipei firmly rejects.

What Lies Ahead

The typhoon remains on course for China's eastern seaboard, with landfall expected between late Sunday and early Monday. Emergency preparations continue across Zhejiang and Fujian provinces, while the full extent of damage in Japan's Okinawa and Amami regions is still being assessed. Authorities across the affected areas have urged residents to remain indoors and follow official safety advisories as the storm approaches.