Typhoon Dolphin has made landfall on China’s eastern coast, bringing torrential rain and hurricane-force winds as authorities scramble to manage the aftermath of the most powerful tropical cyclone to strike the country this year. The storm arrived near Yuhuan in eastern Zhejiang province at approximately 5:30 p.m. (09:30 GMT) on Sunday, according to China’s meteorological authorities.
Upon making landfall, the storm packed maximum sustained winds of 151 km/h (93 mph) near its center, a force equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane. Officials have issued urgent warnings regarding severe flooding and landslide risks as the system tracks inland, threatening densely populated areas across eastern China with persistent, heavy precipitation.
Transport was widely disrupted across the region as the storm’s impact intensified. In Shanghai, authorities evacuated at least 30,300 people and cancelled approximately 1,400 flights. Meanwhile, in neighboring Zhejiang province, the city of Wenzhou relocated more than 900,000 residents and opened over 1,000 emergency shelters. By Saturday evening, officials in the Zhejiang city of Taizhou had already evacuated an additional 390,000 people to ensure public safety.
In Fujian province, approximately 98,900 people were evacuated from high-risk areas after authorities raised their typhoon emergency response to Level III, as reported by the state news agency Xinhua. To mitigate risks, officials moved offshore workers to safety, ordered vessels back to port, and conducted rigorous inspections of reservoirs, mountain streams, landslide-prone zones, construction sites, and popular tourist locations.
Maritime safety measures were strictly enforced, with Fujian authorities suspending 55 coastal passenger ferry routes and halting 115 offshore construction projects. Furthermore, 290 construction vessels were relocated to sheltered waters. Shanghai’s Yangshan port also cleared its berths, moving more than 500 small and medium-sized vessels to safety ahead of the storm’s arrival.
Forecasters expect torrential rain to persist through August 10 across Zhejiang, Shanghai, northern Fujian, northeastern Jiangxi, central and southern Anhui, and much of Jiangsu. Parts of central and eastern Zhejiang are particularly vulnerable, with predictions of 250mm to 500mm (9.8 to 19.7 inches) of rainfall. China’s Ministry of Water Resources has warned that the Qiantang, Yong, Jiao, and Shuiyang rivers could experience major flooding, while smaller waterways may exceed critical warning levels.
Wang Haiping, chief forecaster at the National Meteorological Centre, told state broadcaster CCTV that Dolphin is expected to track westward and slow down over central and southwestern China, gradually losing strength. This slower movement threatens to prolong heavy rainfall, significantly increasing the risk of geological disasters and landslides in mountainous regions.
The storm’s reach extended beyond the mainland. The outer bands of Dolphin brought heavy rain to northern Taiwan, including Taipei, starting Saturday, leading to the suspension of dozens of ferry services and the cancellation of more than 180 flights. Earlier in the weekend, the typhoon swept through Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture, injuring at least six people and cutting power to more than 50,000 buildings.
In the Philippines, Dolphin intensified seasonal monsoon rains, triggering flooding and landslides. In the northern mountain resort city of Baguio, five people were rescued and seven remain missing after a landslide struck three houses on Sunday. Flooding also displaced more than 12,000 people across Luzon, including the metropolitan Manila region, forcing school closures. These conditions follow a tropical storm from the previous week that resulted in at least six deaths, including four fatalities from landslides in the provinces of Benguet and Rizal.
Flooding also affected large parts of the main northern island of Luzon, including the densely populated metropolitan Manila region, displacing more than 12,000 people and forcing several northern cities and towns to clo
