Typhoon Khanun blows theater door off hinges, topples trees at US bases on Okinawa

Aug 08, 2023

Maintenance workers discard a door from the theater at Camp Foster, Okinawa, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. Typhoon Khanun's strong winds broke it off the hinges. (Frank Andrews/Stars and Stripes)

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Typhoon Khanun has left behind flooding, uprooted trees, power outages and injuries on Okinawa but may not be finished with Japan’s southernmost prefecture.

The storm injured 42 people, a spokesman for Okinawa prefectural police said by phone Thursday. Two deaths are being investigated as possibly typhoon related. None of those are connected to the U.S. military.

Khanun — 230 miles west-northwest of Kadena Air Base on Thursday afternoon — was forecast to weaken before turning toward Okinawa again over the weekend, according to the Joint Typhoon Center and the 18th Wing’s weather flight. The storm is expected to pass 94 miles north-northwest of Kadena at about 10 p.m. Saturday, with 69 mph sustained winds and 86 mph gusts.

A do-not-enter sign, broken by Typhoon Khanun, leans near a bank at Camp Foster, Okinawa, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. (Frank Andrews/Stars and Stripes)

Japanese workers clean up debris from a tree toppled by Typhoon Khanun at American Village in Chatan, Okinawa, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. (Frank Andrews/Stars and Stripes)

U.S. military bases entered a tropical storm watch at 10 a.m. Thursday; hazards remain, although destructive winds of 57 mph or greater are not forecast.

By 1 p.m. Thursday, electricity had been restored to 75,000 of the 225,000 homes left without power, according to the Okinawa Electric Power Co. Approximately 1,800 employees were working to restore service.

Khanun, which means jackfruit in Thai, slammed into Okinawa on Tuesday night. Its center came as close as 60 miles southwest of Kadena at 4 a.m. Wednesday, weather flight commander Capt. William Hanson said at the time.

Wind gusts reached 145 mph, according to Japan’s Meteorological Agency. Twelve inches of rain fell on Okinawa's capital, Naha.

Recovery efforts began Thursday on U.S. bases. Service members at Camp Foster and Kadena Air Base picked up branches and piled debris.

Patrons flock to the Camp Foster commissary, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, to stock up on supplies in the wake of Typhoon Khanun. (Frank Andrews/Stars and Stripes)

The base thrift shop sign lays toppled at Camp Foster, Okinawa, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, in the wake of Typhoon Khanun. (Frank Andrews/Stars and Stripes)

The Camp Foster theater lost two doors during the storm. One, on the first floor, was blown off its hinges and deposited 90 feet away.

The line to purchase groceries Thursday at the Foster commissary stretched the length of the building.

Staff Sgt. Bruce Caca, 35, a contracting officer on Foster, said he sheltered in place at his base home with his wife and three children.

"I was in a group chat with my Marines — some I know lost power on Camp Lester and Kadena Air Base," he said in front of the Army and Air Force Exchange on Thursday morning. "This one wasn’t so bad for us, fortunately, because we live on Foster, so we did not lose power and my wife stocked up on food."

Power outages and light flooding struck Kadena, an important air transportation and fighter hub, but the base reported no major emergencies or injuries, wing spokesman Staff Sgt. Juan Torres Chardon said by email Thursday. The 18th Civil Engineer Squadron worked into the afternoon to restore utilities and make sure roads and facilities were safe.

The main food court at Camp Foster, Okinawa, was still wet Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, from a leak caused by Typhoon Khanun. (Frank Andrews/Stars and Stripes)

Patrons flock to the Camp Foster commissary, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, to stock up on supplies in the wake of Typhoon Khanun. (Frank Andrews/Stars and Stripes)

No Marines were injured during the storm and III Marine Expeditionary Force had accounted for 100% of its personnel, spokesman Capt. Brett Dornhege-Lazaroff said by email Thursday. The unit was working to assess damage and provide information and resources to impacted Marines and sailors.

Naha Airport, closed Tuesday and Wednesday, reopened Thursday, though 125 flights were canceled, the airport website said. The first departure, an All Nippon Airways flight to Tokyo's Haneda International Airport, departed at 1:15 p.m.

Okinawa's expressway remained closed Thursday afternoon while crews checked for damage and cleared debris, a spokesman for West Nippon Expressway Co. Ltd. said by phone. The company was not sure when the expressway would reopen. He said he was authorized to speak only on condition of anonymity.

Stars and Stripes reporters Frank Andrews and Dave Ornauer contributed to this report.

Trees toppled by Typhoon Khanun litter Camp Foster, Okinawa, Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023. (Frank Andrews/Stars and Stripes)