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The Japan Meteorological Agency classified Typhoon Dolphin as a very strong storm packing maximum sustained winds of 162 kilometres per hour and gusts up to 216 kilometres per hour when it made landfall in Japan’s southern islands. Okinawan authorities said five elderly people, three of whom fell due to strong winds, suffered non-life-threatening injuries in Okinawa while another person was injured in Kagoshima prefecture. Nearly 39,000 buildings lost power in Kagoshima and just over 12,000 were affected in Okinawa, according to prefectural officials, with trees toppled across Nago city and at least one vehicle overturned.
Reuters reported that Japanese authorities had ordered nearly 260,000 residents in Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures to evacuate as the storm approached, with around 240 people seeking shelter at evacuation centres in Okinawa on Friday. More than 500 flights were cancelled, closing Naha International Airport and forcing ANA and Japan Airlines to suspend services to and from the region. The typhoon also led Toyota to halt operations at nine factories while a linear rain band raised flooding concerns in parts of Kyushu still recovering from a magnitude 7.1 earthquake the previous week that left 6,700 residents in evacuation shelters.
According to forecasts from the Japan Meteorological Agency, Dolphin is expected to maintain much of its strength as it tracks toward China’s eastern coast, making landfall between Zhoushan in Zhejiang province and Fuding in Fujian province late on August 9 or early on August 10. Chinese authorities raised the coastal typhoon alert to its highest level in Zhejiang, a key manufacturing and export hub, and issued orange alerts for typhoon conditions, heavy rain and geological disasters together with a red alert for mountain torrents. Beijing officials have said they are closely monitoring the system and preparing flood-control measures along with potential evacuation plans for the capital.
Reuters stated that preparations in China included halting all port operations and ferry services in Zhejiang, suspending flights at Ningbo Lishe International Airport from Saturday evening and clearing vessels from Shanghai’s Yangshan port, with some rail services also interrupted. Construction work was stopped, fishing boats ordered to return to harbour and the overall emergency response elevated to level III to address risks of flooding and landslides. The country’s National Marine Forecasting Center maintained its highest red-level wave warning, forecasting swells of five to eight metres off Zhejiang through Sunday afternoon.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has noted that an average of about 25 cyclones reach tropical storm strength in the western Pacific annually, with roughly three making landfall in Japan, a frequency that experts say can intensify during strong El Niño years such as this one. Typhoon season in the region generally runs from May to October, when such systems become more commonplace. In Taiwan the storm prompted cancellation of 78 flights, mostly international, as heavy rain affected the north without triggering evacuations so far.
