Typhoon Dolphin has moved over Japan’s southern remote islands, causing a main airport on Okinawa to close and sending hundreds of people into evacuation centres.
The typhoon was just north of the main island of Okinawa with maximum winds of 89mph as of Friday afternoon, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Three men in their 70s were slightly injured – two of them were caught in the wind and a third one fell from a stool, apparently blown off by the wind while preparing for the storm, the Okinawa prefecture said.
The Naha Airport on Okinawa Island said it closed on Friday and all domestic and international flights in and out of Naha have been cancelled.
As of midday on Friday local time (4am BST), 240 people had taken shelter at evacuation centres across Okinawa, the prefecture said.
With Dolphin expected to affect part of Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu, residents whose houses were damaged by last week’s deadly earthquake were placing blue tarps on roofs and walls to prevent water damage.
The meteorological agency predicted strong winds, heavy rain and high waves in the Okinawa region through until Sunday, urging residents in the area to stay indoors.
The storm will weaken over the weekend as it heads toward China’s eastern coast, where it is expected to make landfall on Monday morning.