Typhoon Dolphin hits Japan’s Okinawa, China shuts ports ahead of landfall

Typhoon Dolphin struck Japan's Okinawa prefecture on Saturday, leaving six people injured and causing power outages to over 50,000 buildings. Meanwhile, China shut down ports and halted ferries as the storm approached its east coast. Five elderly individuals in Okinawa sustained non-life-threatening injuries from the typhoon, while another person was hurt in Kagoshima prefecture. Domestic airlines ANA and Japan Airlines suspended flights to and from Okinawa.

The typhoon, with maximum sustained winds of 162 kph (90 mph) and gusts up to 216 kph, was expected to make landfall in China between late Sunday and early Monday. Authorities designated it an orange-category storm, the second-highest level, and raised the emergency response level to II, the second-lowest, due to concerns over flooding and landslides. China's National Meteorological Center forecast winds of 38-45 meters per second (85-101 mph) near the typhoon's center.

In China, a red-level warning warned of 5-to-8-meter (16-to-26-foot) waves in coastal waters off Zhejiang through Sunday afternoon. Orange-level alerts for typhoon, heavy rain, and geological disaster risks, along with a red alert for mountain torrents, were issued for Shanghai and northern Fujian. Ports and airports in eastern China, including Shanghai's Yangshan Port and Ningbo Lishe International Airport, halted operations due to the impending storm. Rail services in the Yangtze River Delta would also be suspended starting Sunday.

Beijing's authorities monitored the typhoon's path and prepared for potential floods and evacuations in the capital. In Taiwan, 78 international flights were canceled due to Dolphin, but authorities had not ordered evacuations. China, viewing Taiwan as its own territory, ordered ships passing through the Taiwan Strait to follow its traffic control instructions, a move Taipei denounced as inappropriate.