Typhoon Dolphin hits Okinawa, with China shutting ports ahead of landfall

Typhoon Dolphin made landfall on Japan's Okinawa Prefecture on Saturday, causing injuries and power outages. The storm caused five non-life-threatening injuries, with three elderly individuals falling due to the strong winds. Okinawa and Amami island in Kagoshima Prefecture are the primary areas expected to be affected by the typhoon.

Typhoon Dolphin was moving northwest at 15 kph, with maximum sustained winds of 162 kph and gusts reaching 216 kph. China shut down ports and ferry routes ahead of the storm's expected arrival on its eastern and southern coast between late Sunday and early Monday. The China National Meteorological Center predicted winds of 38-45 meters per second near the storm's center, with heavy rain and strong winds affecting eastern China through August 12.

Zhejiang raised its coastal typhoon alert to its highest level, halting port operations and suspending 162 passenger ferry routes. Shanghai's Yangshan port had been cleared of vessels by late Friday, and some rail services in the Yangtze River Delta were suspended from Sunday. In Taiwan, 63 international flights were canceled due to the typhoon, with authorities not ordering evacuations as of Saturday.

China has ordered ships passing through the Taiwan Strait to follow its traffic control instructions, a move that Taipei denounced as "ridiculous" and claimed Beijing had no right to restrict access to international waters.