Typhoon Saudel Hits Japan, Targets China's East Coast

One Storm, Two Coasts: Saudel Moves From Okinawa Toward Zhejiang

China's National Meteorological Center (NMC) raised its weather alert on Wednesday morning as Typhoon Saudel, the 18th named storm of the 2026 Pacific season, was forecast to enter the East China Sea before making landfall along the coast from central Zhejiang to central Fujian provinces. The warning came just hours after the same system finished pounding Japan's southwestern islands, where it injured two people, knocked out power, and forced the cancellation of about 150 flights at Okinawa's Naha airport.

The storm's twin impact on Japan and then China makes it a rare shared-weather event for the region, and it arrives as the western Pacific is churning with multiple tropical systems at once. Typhoon Narra, the 19th storm of the season, was still producing record flooding in southern China, while Typhoon Gaenari, the 20th, had formed further east over the Pacific.

Japan's Brush With Saudel: Landfall at Okinoerabu and Okinawa Warnings

Saudel made landfall on, or passed very close to, Okinoerabu Island in Kagoshima Prefecture around midnight on Tuesday, August 25, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). The storm then swept past Okinawa and Amamioshima, where two women sustained minor injuries during the passage. The JMA reported blackouts and landslides across the small islands of southwestern Japan, and Naha airport cancelled roughly 150 flights to and from Okinawa as the typhoon moved through.

As of late morning on Wednesday, August 26, the JMA placed Saudel about 180 kilometers northwest of Okinoerabu Island, packing winds of up to 144 kilometers per hour (89 miles per hour) as it headed toward China's eastern coast. The agency also warned of waves of seven to twelve meters in the eastern section of the East China Sea, a hazard for shipping and coastal communities on both sides of the waterway.

China's Warning: NMC Alert and a Landfall Window From Zhejiang to Fujian

On the Chinese side, the NMC said Saudel was likely to enter the East China Sea on Wednesday morning before making landfall along the coast from central Zhejiang to central Fujian. From Wednesday to Thursday, parts of Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong and Hainan were expected to see torrential rain, with some areas receiving exceptionally heavy rainfall, according to the NMC's forecast carried by CGTN.

SCMP reported that airports in Zhejiang and Fujian remained on high alert for delays and cancellations as the storm approached, after multiple flights had already been cancelled in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Hong Kong Airlines fully cancelled its HX658 and HX659 services between the city and Okinawa, while HK Express rescheduled its Okinawa-bound flights to August 27. Earlier guidance from the NMC pointed to a landfall window between Thursday night and Friday morning along the coast from Xiangshan in eastern Zhejiang to Fuqing in southeast Fujian.

China's coastal provinces began moving into response mode ahead of the storm's arrival. Ferry services in parts of the region were suspended as seas built, and the NMC had already raised alerts earlier in the week as two typhoons approached at once, with People's Daily reporting on August 25 that both Narra and Saudel were being tracked simultaneously. The consecutive storms have kept emergency crews in Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong rotating through back-to-back response cycles.

A Pacific Storm Cluster: Saudel, Narra and Gaenari in Sequence

Saudel formed over the Northwest Pacific on August 19 and intensified into a super typhoon early on Sunday, August 23, before beginning its westward churn toward China's eastern seaboard, according to China Daily. Its approach comes in the middle of an unusually active stretch of the typhoon season: Typhoon Narra triggered record flood waters and mass evacuations in southern China, with The Guardian reporting on August 26 that widespread flooding had submerged homes in the region while another storm system tracked toward Japan and Taiwan.

Typhoon Gaenari, the 20th storm of the year, developed over the western Pacific on August 22, according to the China Meteorological Administration. Experts cited by China Daily linked the heightened activity to the ongoing El Nino pattern, which has created conditions across the western Pacific that are favorable for typhoon development.

The Numbers Behind the Storm: Wind, Waves and a Season of Landfalls

Saudel peaked with winds of up to 220 kilometers per hour as a super typhoon before weakening during its passage over Japan's southwestern islands. By the time it entered the East China Sea, the JMA assessed its winds at around 144 kilometers per hour, still a strong typhoon by regional standards. Forecast models tracked the center about 720 kilometers east of the Zhejiang-Fujian border at 27.7 degrees north latitude and 127.7 degrees east longitude at 5 a.m. on Wednesday, according to tracking data cited by Worldports.

If Saudel does make landfall on the Chinese mainland, it would be the seventh typhoon to do so this year. Previous storms, including Typhoon Bavi, brought torrential rain and flooding to coastal provinces, underscoring the cumulative strain that this year's active season has placed on China's emergency response systems.

What This Means for Japan and the Asia-Pacific Region

For Japanese readers, Saudel is a reminder that the same storm systems that strike the home islands frequently continue west to threaten China, and the reverse is also true. The JMA's warnings for the East China Sea affect Japanese shipping lanes and the waters around Okinawa, where the storm has already disrupted air travel and island infrastructure. The cancellation of Hong Kong-Okinawa flights shows how a single typhoon can ripple through the region's travel networks within days.

The three-storm sequence also tests the disaster-preparedness systems of two major economies back to back. Japan has now absorbed Saudel's initial punch, while China is preparing for landfall even as it continues to respond to Narra's flooding in the south. Regional weather cooperation, including shared forecasting data between the JMA and China's meteorological agencies, becomes more valuable in seasons like this one.

For Japanese weather agencies, the coordination value is concrete. The JMA and the NMC issue overlapping track and intensity guidance for the same storms, and the East China Sea forecasts they publish cover waters that are critical to both countries' shipping and fishing industries. When a system like Saudel crosses from Japan's island chain into China's coastal warning zones, the two agencies' bulletins effectively become two halves of a single regional picture.

What to Watch For

The immediate question is the exact timing and location of Saudel's landfall. The NMC's guidance has shifted between a Wednesday arrival and a Thursday night to Friday morning window, with the coast from central Zhejiang to central Fujian, roughly from Xiangshan to Fuqing, the most likely target. Torrential rain across Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong and Hainan will follow regardless of the precise landfall point, and localized flooding is a real risk in areas already saturated by earlier storms.

For Japan, the JMA will continue to monitor the storm's interaction with the East China Sea, where large waves could affect shipping and coastal areas of Okinawa and Kyushu even after the center has moved on. With Gaenari still active over the Pacific and the typhoon season at its peak, the region should expect more shared-storm headlines in the weeks ahead.

By Kenji Tanaka, Staff Writer

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Sources: CGTN, SCMP, Japan Meteorological Agency, China Daily, The Guardian, The Independent, Asahi Shimbun.