Tropical Storm Ampil

On July 20, the JMA issued a storm warning (Japanese: 暴風警報) for Okinawa Island.[15] The warning was canceled the next day, after Ampil passed the island.[16] Kitadaitōjima recorded wind gusts of 113 km/h (70 mph).[17] A total of 29 people were evacuated in Okinawa Prefecture.[18] Adverse weather conditions caused 106 flights and 112 sailings to be canceled from July 20 to 21, affecting almost 15,000 people.[19] The Okinawa Urban Monorail suspended operations for the morning of July 21.[20] The Okinawa Prefectural Museum and the Urasoe Art Museum closed for the morning on July 21. Shuri Castle was also closed during a similar time period.[21][22] Major department stores across Okinawa were closed till about noon on July 21.[23][24][25]

Further northeast, moist air from Ampil generated thunderstorms in and around Fukuoka. A lightning strike damaged the runway at Fukuoka Airport, forcing it to close for an hour and resulting in 70 flights being canceled. Lightning also disrupted signaling along the Kagoshima Main Line and Kashii Line, while heavy rains caused the Hitahikosan Line to temporarily suspend services.[26]

Conditions in Suzhou ahead of Ampil on July 22

Ahead of Ampil on July 20, the Chinese National Meteorological Center issued a yellow alert, the third-highest rating on their warning system.[27] The Shanghai Meteorological Bureau upgraded this further to an orange alert on July 21.[28] A total of 387,100 people across Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang were evacuated,[29] including 192,700 in Shanghai,[30] and 40,000 ships across the region returned to port for shelter.[29] More than 600 flights at Shanghai's Pudong and Hongqiao airports were canceled and high-speed rail services were disrupted.[31] Ferry lines across the Yangtze River suspended operations. Temporary speed limits were imposed on expressways and bridges crossing the Huangpu River, while the Donghai Bridge was closed to traffic. The observation decks of Shanghai Tower and Shanghai World Financial Center were shut.[32] Elsewhere, warnings were issued in Shandong in anticipation of geologic hazards resulting from heavy rainfall.[29]

When Ampil made landfall in eastern Chongming District on July 22, it became the only third tropical cyclone to make landfall over Shanghai since 1949 (the other instances were in 1977 and 1989).[14] Strong winds occurred in the Zhoushan area, with a gust to 33.1 m/s (119 km/h; 74 mph) recorded in Jigu Jiao (Chinese: 鸡骨礁) and a gust to 28.0 m/s (101 km/h; 63 mph) recorded in Xiaoyangshan (Chinese: 小洋山). An automated weather station on Hengsha Island recorded a rainfall total of 112.8 mm (4.44 in).[33] As Ampil tracked further inland from July 22 to 25, it produced a large swath of heavy rain across East and Northeast China. Rainfall totals exceeded 200 mm (7.9 in) in Rizhao, Tianjin, Chengde, and Qinhuangdao, with a peak accumulation of 324 mm (12.8 in) recorded in Qinglong County. The heavy rains caused water levels along 17 tributaries of the Songhua River to rise up to 2.01 m (6.59 ft) above the ordinary high water mark. Flooding along the Hulan River reached an all-time high; the Chaohe River recorded its largest floods since 1998. Throughout the country, Ampil affected 2.334 million people, killing one person in Shandong with a fallen tree and causing direct economic losses of ¥1.63 billion (US$246 million).[34][35] According to statistics from the National Disaster Reduction Center, about 169,200 hectares (418,000 acres) of cropland were damaged, of which 6,300 hectares (16,000 acres) were completely lost. Approximately 500 houses collapsed and another 6,700 were damaged, while roughly 1,000 people required emergency assistance.[36]