Typhoon Dolphin is lashing southern Japan, moving over remote islands between Kyushu and Okinawa Prefecture. The storm has recorded maximum sustained winds of 162kmh with gusts reaching 216kmh, while other measurements indicated sustained winds of 144 kph and gusts of 198 kph.
The weather system caused the main airport on Okinawa to close, grounding all flights. Authorities issued evacuation orders for nearly 260,000 residents in Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures, and Toyota suspended work at nine factories. Power outages affected nearly 39,000 buildings in Kagoshima and just over 12,000 in Okinawa.
Five elderly people suffered non-life-threatening injuries, with three falling due to the wind. The typhoon is now headed for the coast of eastern China, where ports have been closed and authorities are shutting schools and tourist sites in preparation.