Typhoon Dolphin has made landfall on China’s eastern coast, bringing torrential rain and hurricane-force winds, with more than one million people evacuated as the country braces for the most powerful tropical cyclone to hit the region this year. The storm made landfall near Yuhuan in eastern Zhejiang province at approximately 5:30pm (09:30 GMT) on Sunday, according to China’s meteorological authorities.
The storm packed maximum sustained winds of 151km/h (93mph) near its centre as it came ashore, a force equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane. Authorities have warned of severe flooding and landslide risks as the storm moves inland, continuing to dump heavy rain across densely populated areas of eastern China.
Transport was widely disrupted across the region. Shanghai evacuated at least 30,300 people and cancelled about 1,400 flights. In neighbouring Zhejiang province, the city of Wenzhou relocated more than 900,000 residents and opened more than 1,000 emergency shelters, while authorities in the city of Taizhou had already evacuated about 390,000 people by Saturday evening.
In Fujian province, about 98,900 people were evacuated from high-risk areas after authorities raised their typhoon emergency response to Level III, state news agency Xinhua reported. Officials moved offshore workers to safety, ordered vessels back to port, and stepped up critical inspections of reservoirs, mountain streams, landslide-prone areas, construction sites, and tourist locations.
Torrential rain is forecast through August 10 across Zhejiang, Shanghai, northern Fujian, northeastern Jiangxi, central and southern Anhui, and much of Jiangsu. Forecasters warn that parts of central and eastern Zhejiang could receive between 250mm to 500mm (9.8-19.7 inches) of rain, significantly increasing the risk of flash flooding.
China’s Ministry of Water Resources warned that the Qiantang, Yong, Jiao, and Shuiyang rivers could experience major flooding, while smaller rivers in the hardest-hit areas are expected to rise above warning levels. Authorities also issued a high-risk warning for geological disasters in parts of Zhejiang, with residents in areas under a red mountain-torrent alert instructed to follow local evacuation orders.
Wang Haiping, chief forecaster at the National Meteorological Centre, told state broadcaster CCTV that Dolphin is expected to track westward before slowing over central and southwestern China, where it will gradually lose strength. This slower movement could prolong heavy rainfall and exacerbate the threat of flooding and landslides, particularly in mountainous regions.
Maritime authorities in Fujian suspended 55 coastal passenger ferry routes, halted 115 offshore construction projects, and moved 290 construction vessels to sheltered waters. Similarly, Shanghai’s Yangshan port cleared ships from its berths and moved more than 500 small and medium-sized vessels to safety ahead of the storm’s arrival.
The outer bands of Dolphin brought heavy rain to northern Taiwan, including Taipei, starting Saturday. Dozens of ferry services were suspended and more than 180 flights were cancelled as the storm brought strong winds and downpours. The cyclone’s impact extended far beyond China, as it intensified seasonal monsoon rains in the Philippines, triggering flooding and landslides across parts of the country.
In the Philippines, five people were rescued and seven remained missing after a landslide struck three houses in the northern mountain resort city of Baguio on Sunday. Flooding also affected large parts of the main northern island of Luzon, including metropolitan Manila, displacing more than 12,000 people and forcing several cities to close schools. These rains followed a tropical storm that left at least six people dead last week in the provinces of Benguet and Rizal. Earlier in the weekend, Dolphin swept through Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture, injuring at least six people and cutting power to more than 50,000 buildings.