WATCH | Typhoon Dolphin batters Japan as China braces for landfall

Typhoon Dolphin battered Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture on Saturday, leaving five people injured and knocking out power to around 14,000 buildings as the storm moved towards China’s eastern coast.

The typhoon was located about 160 km northwest of Kume Island in Okinawa at 0300 GMT and was moving northwest at around 15 kph, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. It packed sustained winds of up to 162 kph, with gusts reaching 216 kph.

Five elderly people suffered injuries, with three reportedly falling amid strong winds, the Okinawa prefectural government said. Major Japanese airlines, including ANA and Japan Airlines, cancelled flights to the affected region.

Okinawa and Amami Island in Kagoshima prefecture are expected to bear the brunt of the storm as it moves across the region.

China is now preparing for Dolphin’s arrival, with forecasters expecting the typhoon to make landfall between late Sunday and early Monday along the eastern and southern coast. The likely landfall zone stretches from Zhejiang province’s Zhoushan city to Fuding in Fujian province.

The storm could bring winds of up to 101 mph near its centre and unleash heavy rainfall across eastern China through August 12. Parts of eastern Zhejiang could receive more than 600 mm of rain.

Zhejiang has raised its coastal typhoon alert to the highest level, suspended port operations and halted 162 passenger ferry routes. Ningbo Lishe International Airport will stop operations late Saturday and cancel all flights on Sunday. Shanghai’s Yangshan port has also been cleared of vessels, while some rail services in the Yangtze River Delta are set to be suspended.

Taiwan cancelled 63 international flights as heavy rain was forecast in the north.

The storm has also added to tensions across the Taiwan Strait. Beijing ordered ships transiting the strategic waterway to follow its traffic-control instructions, prompting Taipei to call the move “ridiculous” and reject China’s authority to restrict passage through what it considers international waters.