Typhoon Dolphin struck Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture on Saturday, injuring six people and cutting power to more than 50,000 buildings, while China closed ports and suspended ferry services ahead of the storm’s expected arrival on its eastern coast.
Five elderly people in Okinawa, including three who fell because of strong winds, suffered non-life-threatening injuries, while another person was injured in Kagoshima prefecture, authorities said, Reuters reported.
Nearly 39,000 buildings in Kagoshima were without power, while just over 12,000 buildings were affected in Okinawa. Japanese domestic airlines ANA (9202.T) and Japan Airlines (9201.T) cancelled flights to and from Okinawa.
The typhoon had maximum sustained winds of 162 kph (89.5 mph), with gusts reaching 216 kph.
Okinawa and Amami Island in Kagoshima prefecture are the main areas expected to be affected in Japan.
In China, where the typhoon is expected to make landfall between late Sunday and early Monday, authorities have classified Dolphin as an orange-category typhoon, the second-highest level.
Concerned about the risk of flooding and landslides, authorities also raised the emergency response level for Dolphin by one notch to level III, the second-lowest level.
Rain and strong winds are expected to affect eastern China through Aug. 12, including parts of Shanghai and neighboring provinces. Forecasters said some areas of eastern Zhejiang could receive more than 600 mm (23.6 inches) of rain.
Zhejiang raised its coastal typhoon alert to its highest level, halted port operations and suspended 162 passenger ferry routes. Fujian also suspended ferry services.
Ningbo Lishe International Airport in Zhejiang said it would halt operations from 11:30 p.m. (1530 GMT) on Saturday and suspend all flights on Sunday. Shanghai’s Yangshan Port had been cleared of vessels by late Friday, while some rail services in the Yangtze River Delta will be suspended from Sunday.
In Taiwan, 78 international flights were cancelled because of the typhoon, the government said. Heavy rain was expected in northern parts of the island over the weekend, although authorities had not ordered evacuations as of Saturday.
China has ordered ships passing through the Taiwan Strait to follow its traffic control instructions because of the typhoon. Taipei denounced the measures as “ridiculous,” saying Beijing has no right to restrict access to international waters.
China considers democratically governed Taiwan to be its own territory and claims the strategic strait. Both Taipei and Washington reject that claim.