Typhoon Dolphin lashed Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture on Saturday, August 8, 2026, before tracking toward mainland China. The storm, which previously reached super typhoon status, has prompted China to shut ports and schools in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces as it threatens the east coast with severe flooding and landslides.
The storm’s arrival in East Asia has already left a trail of disruption and injury. In Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture, the Okinawa Prefectural Government reported that five elderly people suffered non-life-threatening injuries, with three falling due to high winds. The tempest cut power to 14,000 buildings and forced domestic airlines ANA and Japan Airlines to cancel flights to the region.
As of noon Saturday, the Japan Meteorological Agency placed the storm approximately 160 kilometers northwest of Kume Island, moving northwest at 15 kph. While the storm is currently equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane, it previously reached super typhoon status last Friday with winds exceeding 165 mph.
China’s Coastal Defenses and Emergency Responses
China is now bracing for landfall, with the National Meteorological Center predicting the storm will hit the eastern and southern coast between late Sunday and early Monday. The most likely landfall zone is between Zhoushan city in Zhejiang province and Fuding city in Fujian province.
The response has been aggressive. Zhejiang province raised its coastal typhoon alert to the highest level, suspending 162 passenger ferry routes and halting port operations. In Ningbo, one of the province’s largest cities, authorities ordered schools and educational facilities to shut for the weekend. The scale of the maritime shutdown is significant; at the port in Ningbo, some 800 ships are currently docked to avoid the storm.
National authorities have declared a level III emergency response, the second lowest tier. The storm’s path also includes Shanghai, where the Yangshan port was cleared of vessels by late Friday. Some rail services in the Yangtze River Delta are expected to be suspended starting Sunday.
Projected Rainfall and Wind Hazards
Forecasters are warning of extreme precipitation. While some reports suggest areas could see 200-400 mm of rainfall, other forecasts indicate that parts of eastern Zhejiang could receive more than 600 millimeters of rain. These volumes create a high risk of severe flooding and landslides.
Wind speeds near the storm’s center are expected to reach 38-45 meters per second. The maximum sustained winds were estimated at approximately 162 kilometers per hour (101 mph), with gusts reaching as high as 216 kph. This combination of surge and wind is expected to affect eastern China through August 12.
Regional Friction in the Taiwan Strait
The weather crisis has spilled over into geopolitical tension. In Taiwan, the government reported that 63 international flights were canceled. While heavy rain was expected in the north of the island, authorities had not ordered evacuations as of Saturday.
Tensions spiked when China ordered ships passing through the Taiwan Strait to heed its traffic control instructions due to the typhoon. Taipei denounced these measures as ridiculous
, arguing that Beijing has no right to restrict access to international waters. This dispute reflects the broader conflict over the strategic strait, which China claims as its own territory—a claim rejected by both Taipei and Washington.
The 2026 Western Pacific Cyclone Surge
Typhoon Dolphin is part of an unusually volatile year for the Western Pacific. The basin has already produced 165.6 Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE), which is more than double its season-to-date average. ACE is a wind energy index developed by Colorado State University used to measure the intensity and duration of cyclones.
“Typically, an extremely active season is classified by an ACE value above 159.6,”
FOX Forecast Center
“An above-normal season ranges from 126.1 to 159.6, while a below-normal season has an ACE value below 73.”
FOX Forecast Center
Dolphin alone has contributed an ACE value surpassing 43, significantly driving the 2026 season into the extremely active category. This surge in activity has forced widespread precautions, including U.S. military bases in Okinawa ordering all personnel to stay indoors after raising a Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness Emergency on Thursday morning.
As the storm slows and weakens before its expected landfall in Zhejiang, the primary concern remains the potential for flash flooding in Shanghai and the catastrophic landslides that often follow extreme rainfall in the coastal provinces.
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