Chinese authorities have evacuated more than 1 million people from their homes in eastern China as Bbc made landfall on Sunday evening. The storm, identified as the most powerful tropical cyclone to hit China this year, slammed into Yuhuan in the Zhejiang province at 17:30 (09:30 GMT) on Sunday.
Landfall and Immediate Impact
At the time of landfall, the storm packed maximum wind speeds of 150km/h (94mph), according to the BBC. China’s meteorological authorities reported maximum sustained winds of 42 meters per second near the center, a strength equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. State broadcaster CCTV noted that the storm traveled a distance of 6,000km before hitting land, suggesting a lifespan more than three times longer than an average typhoon.
The impact has been felt across several regions. In Shanghai, the financial capital, ground-floor businesses in the tourist-popular former French Concession were flooded, leaving residents and visitors to wade through ankle-deep waters. In Zhejiang province, state media reported that a nine-year-old boy from Wenling is missing after being swept into the sea.
Mass Evacuations and Emergency Response
The scale of the evacuation effort was extensive, with the city of Wenzhou in Zhejiang province relocating more than 900,000 residents and opening over 1,000 emergency shelters. In Fujian province, authorities evacuated 98,900 people from high-risk areas. Shanghai evacuated at least 30,300 people.
Emergency response levels were heightened across the region:
- Level III Emergency Response: Activated in Fujian, Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Jiangsu.
- Red Alert: Chinese authorities issued their highest-level red alert for the storm.
Maritime and industrial safety measures were also implemented. In Fujian, authorities suspended 55 coastal passenger ferry routes and halted 115 offshore construction projects, moving 290 construction vessels to sheltered waters. Shanghai’s Yangshan port cleared its berths and moved more than 500 small and medium-sized vessels to shelter.
Transportation and Infrastructure Disruptions
Transportation across eastern China was widely disrupted. Flight-tracking data provider VariFlight reported that Shanghai canceled approximately 1,500 flights, while the BBC noted nearly 1,000 flights were canceled in the city on Monday alone. One tourist from Guangdong, surnamed Chen, reported being stranded in Shanghai after his family’s Sunday flight was canceled.
Beyond China, the storm caused damage in other regions. In Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture, the typhoon injured six people and cut power to more than 50,000 buildings. The Okinawa prefectural government specified that five elderly people suffered non-life-threatening injuries. In the Philippines, the Office of Civil Defence stated that eight people died due to storms earlier in the week and heavy monsoon rains brought on by Dolphin, with more than 7,000 people seeking refuge in evacuation centers.
Forecast and Ongoing Risks
While authorities have since downgraded Dolphin to a tropical storm, warnings remain in effect through Wednesday as the system moves north. Wang Haiping, chief forecaster at the National Meteorological Center, told CCTV that the storm is forecast to track westward before slowing over central and southwestern China.
Forecasters predict torrential rain through Aug. 10 for several areas, including:
- Zhejiang (with parts of central and eastern Zhejiang potentially receiving 9.8-19.7 inches of rain)
- Shanghai
- Northern Fujian
- Northeastern Jiangxi
- Central and southern Anhui
- Much of Jiangsu
The water resources ministry warned that the Shuiyang, Jiao, Yong, and Qiantang rivers could experience major flooding. Officials continue to warn of severe flooding and the risk of landslides, particularly along smaller rivers and in mountainous areas.
Experts cited a strong El Niño year as a factor that allows typhoons to grow more intense, while other scientists noted that global warming has increased the likelihood of extreme weather and stronger typhoons.
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