On a Sunday evening, eastern China braced for the impact of Typhoon Dolphin, which made two consecutive landfalls along the Zhejiang province coastline, forcing emergency responders to evacuate more than one million residents across the region including the major coastal metropolis of Shanghai.
Meteorological officials confirmed the storm first made landfall in Yuhuan at 17:30 local time (09:30 GMT), carrying maximum sustained wind speeds of 150 kilometers per hour (94 miles per hour). Roughly 60 minutes later, the typhoon made a second landfall in nearby Wenzhou, maintaining enough strength to batter coastal infrastructure and trigger severe weather warnings across a wide swathe of eastern China.
Before the storm’s arrival, national meteorological authorities issued the nation’s highest-level red alert for typhoon activity, activating emergency response protocols across multiple provincial and municipal governments. By Monday morning, however, the system had weakened enough to be downgraded to a tropical storm, though official warnings remain in place through Wednesday.
As the weakened storm system progresses inland, emergency management teams continue to warn residents of ongoing hazards, including torrential downpours, widespread flash flooding, and elevated landslide risks across multiple inland and coastal regions. On Monday, heavy rainfall was forecast for seven provinces – Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang – as well as the major urban center of Shanghai.
The severe weather has brought regional transportation to a near standstill. In Shanghai alone, more than 1,400 scheduled flights were canceled in advance of the storm’s arrival, with rail services also suspended and ferry routes closed to protect passenger safety.
Local authorities have urged residents across the affected region to avoid unnecessary outdoor activities, and dozens of high-profile tourist sites have temporarily shut their gates to visitors. Closures include large sections of Shanghai Disneyland and Legoland Shanghai, alongside multiple popular viewing platforms along the city’s iconic Bund waterfront.