Chinese authorities initiated a massive evacuation effort affecting more than one million residents across eastern China as Typhoon Dolphin made landfall in the region. The storm, identified as the strongest to impact the country this year, initially struck Yuhuan in Zhejiang province with maximum wind speeds of 150 kilometers per hour before making a second landfall in Wenzhou approximately one hour later. Transportation networks experienced significant disruption, with nearly 1,000 flights cancelled in Shanghai alone on Monday.
Despite being downgraded to tropical storm status, meteorological authorities continued issuing warnings about the threat of torrential rainfall, severe flooding, and landslides expected to persist through Wednesday as the system moved northward. Multiple provinces including Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang faced heavy rainfall forecasts. In Zhejiang province specifically, some areas were anticipated to receive between 250 and 500 millimeters of precipitation over several days. State media reported flooding in ground-floor businesses in Shanghai’s former French Concession area, with pedestrians wading through ankle-deep water.
Evacuation and emergency response efforts were substantial across the affected region. Wenzhou authorities relocated approximately 900,000 residents and established over 1,000 emergency shelters, while about 390,000 people were evacuated from Taizhou. Hangzhou waived parking fees in public spaces to provide shelter for residents. Multiple major attractions, including portions of Disneyland and Legoland, and several viewing platforms along Shanghai’s Bund, temporarily closed. In the coastal province of Fujian, maritime authorities suspended numerous passenger ferry routes and halted more than 100 offshore construction projects.
Meteorology experts noted the typhoon’s unusual characteristics, including its extended travel distance of 6,000 kilometers before making landfall and a circulation size and rainfall capacity described as notably intense. The storm previously impacted the Philippines, Taiwan, and Japan’s Okinawa island, where authorities reported five elderly individuals sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Philippine officials reported eight deaths linked to monsoon rains associated with Dolphin and earlier storms, with over 7,000 people sheltering at evacuation centers. Hong Kong recorded a record high temperature of 36.9 degrees Celsius as warm air was drawn over the city by the typhoon.
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