A street sweeper cleans up debris caused Tropical Storm Jangmi at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, on May 3, 2026. (Jonathan Baez/Stars and Stripes)
YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — The home of the U.S. 7th Fleet stirred back to life Thursday, a day after Tropical Storm Jangmi pelted the base with heavy rain and strong winds.
Most of the base’s 27,000 residents and workers waited out the storm until all clear was announced by 5:45 p.m. Wednesday. Operations and services were back to normal by the next morning.
“I’m proud of this community,” base commander Capt. Jon Hopkins told Stars and Stripes by email late Wednesday. “Our Sailors, civilians, and families prepared, looked out for one another, and did exactly what we ask of them when a storm bears down on us.”
The same storm passed over Okinawa on Monday as a category-one typhoon, canceling flights at Naha Airport, uprooting trees and causing scattered power outage across the island.
Jangmi made its closest approach of about 50 miles south-southeast of Yokosuka around 2 p.m., according to Zoom Earth. It brought sustained winds of 50 mph and max gusts of 65 mph. It also dropped 4.3 inches of rain on the base, according to the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command
Yokosuka reported no significant damage or injuries, base spokesman Justin Keller said in the same email.
Most of the guided-missile destroyers homeported at Yokosuka set out to sea Tuesday “due to inclement weather to ensure the safety and continued operations of U.S. 7th Fleet,” fleet spokesman Lt. Cody Milam said by email Wednesday evening. The ships were still at sea as of Thursday afternoon.
Base schools were closed on Wednesday.
Being ready for inclement weather is a “year-round discipline” at the home of the 7th Fleet, Hopkins said.
“Readiness is not something we stand up when a typhoon is named — it is how we operate every day in Yokosuka, and it is why we come through storms like this one the way we do,” he said.
Keller encouraged the community to maintain a family emergency plan and three-day go-bag, understand Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness levels and stay informed through official channels, including the base’s AtHoc Emergency Notification System, Commander’s Channel 17-4, the NOAC Yokosuka Weather Channel 17-5, and AFN’s Tokyo’s Eagle 810 AM radio station.
“My thanks to everyone who did their part,” Hopkins said. “Staying ready is a shared responsibility we carry together, and we carried it well.”
