Chinese authorities have begun ordering fishing boats back to shore, while Japanese officials have canceled flights in Okinawa, stranding hundreds of passengers.

Late Thursday, Typhoon Muifa was positioned near the Ryukyu Islands, midway between Japan's main islands and Taiwan.

China's National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center said it could produce waves of six to nine meters as it churns northwestward through the East China Sea at about 15 kilometers per hour.

In Shanghai, authorities warned the storm could be as powerful as 2005's Typhoon Matsa when it comes ashore sometime Saturday or Sunday. Matsa killed four people and caused more than $15 million in damage.

Muifa claimed five lives as it passed through the northern and central Philippines earlier this week.