Typhoon Dolphin is set to hit China’s eastern coast, prompting widespread flight cancellations, evacuations, and the highest level of weather alerts. Authorities are racing to protect millions of people living in the path of the powerful storm.
Nearly 1,400 flights at Shanghai’s two main airports were cancelled on Sunday. Hangzhou airport in Zhejiang province also suspended around 270 flights. The storm first brought heavy rain and strong winds to Japan’s Okinawa, where seven people suffered minor injuries. One elderly man over 100 years old was knocked down by gusts and hit his head. By Sunday afternoon, more than 5,200 households in Okinawa still had no electricity.
In Taiwan, dozens of ferry services stopped and over 180 flights were cancelled as the system brought strong winds and heavy rain to the north of the island. China’s National Meteorological Centre issued a red typhoon alert, the most serious warning, forecasting “extraordinary torrential rain” across central and eastern Zhejiang. Heavy rain is also expected in Shanghai, Fujian, Anhui and Jiangsu through Monday afternoon.
Typhoon Dolphin is forecast to make landfall late Sunday or early Monday in Zhejiang or neighbouring Fujian. After hitting land it should weaken while moving northwest across eastern China. In Fujian alone, nearly 99,000 people were moved from high-risk areas on Saturday. More than 200 ferry routes in Zhejiang and Fujian were suspended. Offshore work stopped and 474 construction vessels returned to port. Some train services in the affected regions were also cancelled for safety.
The storm arrives just two weeks after Typhoon Noul struck southern Guangdong, the strongest typhoon to hit China so far this year. That earlier system had already killed three people and damaged hundreds of homes in the Philippines before reaching Chinese shores.
Local governments continue to urge residents to stay indoors, avoid coastal areas, and follow official safety instructions as the full impact of Typhoon Dolphin approaches.
