Typhoon Dolphin hits Japan’s Okinawa, leaving thousands without power

Typhoon Dolphin battered Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture on August 8, injuring five people and disrupting power supplies, while China closed ports and ferry routes ahead of the storm’s expected arrival on its eastern coast.

The typhoon was located about 160 kilometres (99 miles) northwest of Kume Island in Okinawa at 0300 GMT and was moving northwest at around 15 kph (9 mph), according to the Japan Meteorological Agency, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media. 

Five elderly people sustained non-life-threatening injuries, with three reportedly falling because of strong winds, the Okinawa prefectural government said. Airlines ANA and Japan Airlines cancelled flights to the region.

Dolphin had maximum sustained winds of 162 kph (89.5 mph), with gusts reaching 216 kph.

Okinawa and the Amami Islands in Kagoshima prefecture were identified as the main areas at risk in Japan. Nearly 56,000 households in Okinawa and the Amami Islands were without electricity as the typhoon moved through the region.

Authorities evacuated around 260,000 people and declared a state of emergency in Okinawa and Kagoshima. Wind speeds over the ocean along the typhoon’s path reached up to 60 meters per second, while winds in Naha, Okinawa’s administrative capital, reached 30 meters per second, according to Japan’s national public broadcaster.

The storm is also bringing heavy rainfall, with meteorologists forecasting up to 180 millimetres of rain in Okinawa.

Dolphin was moving toward China at approximately 15 kph and was expected to make landfall along the country’s eastern and southern coast between late Sunday and early Monday, according to the China National Meteorological Centre.

Forecasters said the typhoon was most likely to make landfall between Zhoushan in Zhejiang province and Fuding in Fujian province.

Winds of 38-45 meters per second (85-101 mph) are expected near the storm’s centre.

Heavy rain and strong winds are forecast to affect eastern China through August 12, including Shanghai and neighbouring provinces. Some areas of eastern Zhejiang could receive more than 600 millimetres (23.6 inches) of rain, according to meteorologists.

By Sabina Mammadli