Typhoon Dolphin, the most powerful tropical cyclone to strike China this year, has made landfall on the country's eastern coast, unleashing fierce winds and torrential rain that have forced more than one million people from their homes and triggered widespread flight cancellations across the region.
The storm's centre crossed the coastline near Yuhuan City in Zhejiang province at approximately 5:30pm local time on Sunday, according to China's National Meteorological Centre. Maximum sustained winds near its centre reached 151 km/h at the time of landfall — the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
Authorities had been preparing for the storm's arrival for several days, suspending work and transport services in areas along its predicted path, moving offshore workers to safety, ordering vessels back to port, and increasing inspections at reservoirs, mountain streams, landslide-prone zones, construction sites and tourist locations.
Massive Evacuations Across Zhejiang, Shanghai and Fujian
The scale of the evacuation effort has been enormous. In the city of Wenzhou in Zhejiang province alone, more than 900,000 residents were relocated, with authorities opening more than 1,000 emergency shelters to accommodate displaced people. The city of Taizhou, also in Zhejiang, had already moved some 390,000 residents to safety before landfall.
In Shanghai, authorities evacuated more than 30,300 people from higher-risk areas and activated a Level 3 emergency response. Neighbouring provinces Jiangsu and Fujian also raised their typhoon emergency responses to Level 3.
In Fujian, close to 99,000 people were evacuated from high-risk coastal and inland areas. Maritime authorities there suspended 55 coastal passenger ferry routes, halted all 115 offshore construction projects, and moved 290 construction vessels to sheltered waters.
Shanghai's Yangshan port cleared ships from its berths and moved more than 500 small and medium-sized vessels to sheltered anchorages ahead of the storm's arrival.
Thousands of Flights Grounded Across Eastern China
Transport disruption has been severe. Nearly 1,400 flights at Shanghai's two main passenger airports were cancelled on Sunday, while Hangzhou's airport in Zhejiang saw a further 270 inbound and outbound services axed. In total, flight-tracking data shows approximately 1,500 flights cancelled in and out of Shanghai.
One stranded traveller — a 42-year-old tourist from Guangdong surnamed Chen — described being stuck in Shanghai after his family's Sunday flight was cancelled. The family had been rebooked on a Monday night departure, though he said they remained uncertain it would go ahead.
"To us Guangdong people, this typhoon is as ordinary as having a meal and feeling the wind. It's just part of everyday life," Chen said, noting the storm did not appear especially intense by the standards of China's typhoon-accustomed southern coast.
Flooding and Landslide Risks Set to Persist
Forecasters warned that the danger was far from over once the storm made landfall. Torrential rain is expected to continue through August 10 across Zhejiang, Shanghai, northern Fujian, northeastern Jiangxi, central and southern Anhui, and much of Jiangsu. Some parts of central and eastern Zhejiang could receive between 250 and 500 mm of rainfall over that period.
China's water resources ministry flagged major flooding risks along the Qiantang, Yong, Jiao and Shuiyang rivers, while smaller waterways in the hardest-hit areas were also expected to rise above warning levels. Authorities issued a red mountain-torrent warning for parts of Zhejiang, instructing residents in affected zones to comply with local evacuation orders.
The storm was forecast to track westward after landfall before slowing over central and southwestern China, gradually losing intensity — but that slower movement could extend heavy rainfall and heighten the risk of flooding and landslides, particularly in mountainous terrain and along smaller rivers.
China's National Meteorological Centre had earlier issued its most severe red typhoon alert, forecasting "extraordinary torrential rain" in parts of central and eastern Zhejiang.
Trail of Disruption From Japan to the Philippines
Before reaching the Chinese mainland, Typhoon Dolphin cut across Japan's southern Okinawa prefecture, injuring seven people — including a man aged over 100 who was blown over by gusts and struck his head — and leaving more than 50,000 buildings without power.
In Taiwan, dozens of ferry services were suspended and more than 180 flights cancelled as the storm brought heavy downpours and strong winds to the island's north. In the Philippines, five people were rescued and seven remained missing after a landslide struck three houses in the mountain resort city of Baguio.
As far away as Hong Kong, the storm's influence was felt indirectly — the city's weather observatory recorded a record high temperature of 36.9 degrees Celsius, attributed to warm air pushed over the territory by the typhoon's outer circulation.
Scientists have long warned that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense as global temperatures rise, with powerful tropical cyclones among the phenomena most closely linked to a warming climate.
