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Landfall and evacuation
Typhoon Dolphin made landfall on China’s eastern coast near Yuhuan in eastern Zhejiang province at about 5:30pm (09:30 GMT) on Sunday, bringing torrential rain and hurricane-force winds.
“made landfall near Yuhuan in eastern Zhejiang province at about 5:30pm (09:30 GMT)”
China’s meteorological authorities said the storm packed maximum sustained winds of 151km/h (93mph) near its centre as it came ashore, equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane, and authorities warned of severe flooding and landslide risks as it moved inland.
Authorities evacuated more than 1 million people from densely populated areas of eastern China, with Shanghai evacuating at least 30,300 people and cancelling 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 had also evacuated about 390,000 people in the Zhejiang city of Taizhou 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.
Warnings and transport chaos
China’s National Meteorological Centre issued a red typhoon alert on Sunday morning forecasting "extraordinary torrential rain" in some areas of central and eastern Zhejiang.
Flights in and out of China’s densely populated eastern coast were cancelled, with more than 1,000 flights to and from China’s eastern coast cancelled on Sunday and Shanghai cancelling about 1,400 flights, according to state broadcaster CCTV and flight-tracking data.
In neighbouring Zhejiang, Hangzhou’s airport saw 270 inbound and outbound flights cancelled, while Shanghai’s two main passenger airports cancelled nearly 1,400 flights, according to CCTV reporting cited by France 24.
Authorities moved offshore workers to safety, ordered vessels back to port, and stepped up inspections of reservoirs, mountain streams, landslide-prone areas, construction sites and tourist locations ahead of the storm.
The disruption extended beyond the mainland as Typhoon Dolphin’s outer bands brought heavy rain to northern Taiwan, including Taipei, where dozens of ferry services were suspended and more than 180 flights were cancelled.
Forecast impacts and risks
After making landfall, Dolphin was forecast to track westward before slowing over central and southwestern China and gradually losing strength, with Wang Haiping, chief forecaster at the National Meteorological Centre, telling state broadcaster CCTV that the slower movement could prolong heavy rainfall.
“could prolong heavy rainfall and increase the threat of flooding and landslides”
Forecasters said parts of central and eastern Zhejiang could receive 250mm to 500mm (9.8-19.7 inches) of rain through August 10, and China’s Ministry of Water Resources warned that the Qiantang, Yong, Jiao and Shuiyang rivers could experience major flooding.
Authorities also warned of a high risk of geological disasters in parts of Zhejiang, with residents in areas under a red mountain-torrent warning told to follow local evacuation orders.
In Fujian, Fujian maritime authorities suspended 55 coastal passenger ferry routes, halted 115 offshore construction projects and moved 290 construction vessels to sheltered waters, while Shanghai’s Yangshan port cleared ships from its berths and moved more than 500 small and medium-sized vessels to shelter.
The storm’s regional effects had already included Okinawa, where it injured at least six people and cut power to more than 50,000 buildings, and in the Philippines a landslide struck three houses in Baguio, where five people were rescued and seven remained missing.
