Typhoon Dolphin Nears Japan, Prompts Evacuations, Closes Okinawa Airport

Hong Kong holidaymakers in Okinawa on Friday contended with depleted supermarket shelves, potential power cuts, and violent weather as Typhoon Dolphin shut the Japanese island’s main airport and disrupted every direct flight home.

Social media images shared by Hong Kong-linked travel accounts showed empty bread shelves and torrential rain sweeping parts of the popular destination. Typhoon Dolphin moves westward toward Japan's southwestern islands. Japan orders mass evacuations for hundreds of thousands of people in southwestern Japan. More than 500 flights were cancelled on Friday as the slow-moving typhoon approached the region, bringing violent winds, heavy rain, and high waves.

China also braces for the typhoon, deploying drones and artificial intelligence to patrol over the sea as ferry routes are suspended, construction halted, and fishermen evacuated in coastal provinces. By Friday morning, the typhoon was about 820 kilometers from China’s east coast. The Japanese government classifies the Kumamoto earthquake as a disaster of extreme severity.

Japan researchers confirm a 33-kilometer surface rupture after the Kumamoto quake. Quake-hit Kumamoto is warned of landslides due to the typhoon's heavy rain. Beijing experiences heavy rains as China prepares for Typhoon Dolphin, which is the fourth typhoon to reach the country this summer. China's coastal provinces are preparing for the typhoon's landfall. The typhoon is expected to land in China from Sunday afternoon to Monday morning.