Typhoon Dolphin swept through Japan's southern Okinawa prefecture on Saturday, knocking out power to more than 50,000 buildings, injuring at least six people and cancelling hundreds of flights, before setting its course for China's densely populated eastern seaboard, where authorities scrambled to prepare for landfall expected late Sunday into Monday.

The storm packed maximum sustained winds of 162 km/h with gusts reaching 216 km/h, earning it a "very strong" typhoon designation from the Japan Meteorological Agency. The main areas affected in Japan were the islands of Okinawa and Amami, the latter part of Kagoshima prefecture — a chain of subtropical islands stretching south-west toward Taiwan. Nearly 39,000 buildings lost power in Kagoshima, with a further 12,000 affected in Okinawa. Five elderly residents suffered non-life-threatening injuries, three of them knocked down by strong winds, while a sixth person was hurt in Kagoshima. Trees were toppled across Nago city and at least one car was found overturned in a car park. Japan Airlines and ANA both cancelled flights to and from Naha International Airport, Okinawa's main hub, which shut its doors ahead of the storm's arrival.

China's authorities classified Dolphin as an orange-category typhoon — the second-highest level on Beijing's scale — and raised their emergency response to Level III as the storm approached a stretch of coast between Zhoushan city in Zhejiang province and Fuding city in Fujian province. Zhejiang, one of China's largest provincial economies and a major manufacturing and export hub, raised its coastal typhoon alert to the maximum level and halted port operations. Shanghai's Yangshan port cleared more than 500 vessels from its berths, Ningbo Lishe International Airport suspended all Sunday flights, and some rail services across the Yangtze River Delta were also suspended. China's National Marine Forecasting Centre issued its highest red-level wave warning, forecasting waves of five to eight metres off Zhejiang's coast. In Taiwan, 78 mostly international flights were cancelled, though authorities had not ordered evacuations as of Saturday.

The storm's approach also reignited a diplomatic dispute: Beijing ordered ships transiting the Taiwan Strait to observe its traffic-control instructions, a move Taipei swiftly condemned as "ridiculous," asserting that China has no right to restrict access to international waters. China claims the strait as part of its territory, a position rejected by both Taipei and Washington.

Meteorologists warned that the storm's path after landfall — expected to slow and drift westward over central and south-western China — could prolong rainfall and heighten risks of flooding and landslides, particularly in mountainous regions. Parts of Zhejiang could receive 250mm to 500mm of rain, and major rivers including the Qiantang and Yong face the prospect of significant flooding. Emergency management teams have been deployed to Zhejiang and Fujian, and residents in areas under red mountain-torrent warnings have been told to comply with local evacuation orders. The storm is equivalent to a Category Two hurricane on the international Saffir-Simpson scale — capable, forecasters note, of causing extensive damage to homes, trees and infrastructure across a broad arc of eastern China through at least 12 August.