The Camp Foster commissary is shuttered June 1, 2026, as Typhoon Jangmi, a category-one storm, barrels toward Okinawa. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)
CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Okinawa, including scores of U.S. military bases, battened down Monday and braced for Jangmi, the first typhoon to hit the island in nearly three years.
At 10:30 a.m., installations entered Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness 1-Emergency, meaning destructive winds of 58 mph or greater are occurring, according to a post on Kadena Air Base’s Facebook page.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center on Hawaii forecast Jangmi to pass 7 miles west of Kadena at about 7 p.m. Monday.
Okinawa can expect the worst of the storm — 5 to 8 inches of rain and gusts up to 70 mph — around 5 p.m., U.S. Naval Forces Japan spokesman Cmdr. Joe Keiley said by phone Monday.
“We’re monitoring closely along with the installations and really viewing this as an opportunity for everybody across the region, but specifically in Okinawa as they prep, to make sure they’re ready for weathering the storm, have what they need to stay safe and know where to find the information or support if they need it,” he said.
Exchange gas pumps are covered and closed on Camp Foster as Typhoon Jangmi, a category-one storm, approaches Okinawa, June 1, 2026. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)
Marine Corps installations on the island prepared by “securing facilities and equipment, protecting personnel and resources and adjusting operations as conditions warrant,” III Marine Expeditionary Force spokesman 1st Lt. Tyler Thomas said by email Monday. He declined to provide specific details, citing operational security.
On Camp Foster, sandbags lined building entrances and electronic signs were covered.
All appointments were canceled at U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa and the 18th Medical Group, according to social media posts. Patients experiencing emergencies were directed by the medical group to call 911 or proceed to the naval hospital.
Expectant mothers at 37 weeks or more, or 35 weeks or more if expecting twins, were directed to report to the naval hospital when condition of readiness 1-Caution was declared around 5:20 a.m.
At Torii Station, home of the U.S. Army on Okinawa, installation leaders and tenants held a tabletop exercise last week to review typhoon procedures, spokeswoman Natalie Stanley said by email Monday.
The garrison also carried out “routine measures to secure facilities and infrastructure across the installation,” she wrote, but declined to provide specific details, citing operational security.
An electronic sign is protected on Camp Foster as Typhoon Jangmi, a category-one storm, approaches Okinawa, June 1, 2026. (Keishi Koja/Stars and Stripes)
Local buses and the Okinawa Urban Monorail ceased operations on Monday, and Naha International Airport has halted all flights, the airport announced Sunday. All San-A grocery and department stores on Okinawa and the Aeon Mall Okinawa Rycom are closed.
Jangmi is expected to head northeast on Tuesday, approaching Kyushu and Shikoku, two of Japan’s four main islands, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. On Wednesday, the storm is expected to approach the Kinki, Tokai and Kanto-Koshin regions of Honshu, the country’s largest island.
The storm will likely pass just south of Yokosuka Naval Base, south of Tokyo, around mid-afternoon Wednesday. Peak 50-mph sustained winds and 65-mph gusts are forecast, along with showers and isolated thunderstorms Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
The last typhoon to impact Okinawa, Khanun, passed by as a Category 4-equivalent storm, then doubled back and passed again as a Category 1 in July and August 2023. The storm injured 42 people and caused widespread power outages and damage.
AloJapan.com