Typhoon Dolphin prompts mass evacuations and flight cancellations in China

China's densely populated eastern coast is bracing for severe disruptions as Typhoon Dolphin bears down on the region, bringing torrential rain, gale-force winds, and widespread travel chaos. According to reporting compiled across multiple outlets, including Mid Day and Malaymail, authorities have issued top-level weather alerts, ordered the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents, and grounded hundreds of flights ahead of the storm's anticipated landfall late Sunday or early Monday.

The storm is expected to strike the coast between Zhoushan in Zhejiang province and Fuding in Fujian province. Newsbytesapp notes that the severe weather follows destructive impacts across neighbouring territories. Before threatening mainland China, Typhoon Dolphin battered Japan's Okinawa, leaving nearly 5,290 households without power and causing minor injuries to seven people, including a man aged over 100 who was knocked down by strong gusts. Taiwan also experienced severe weather, with dozens of ferry routes suspended and over 180 flights cancelled.

Media additions

China's National Meteorological Centre (NMC) issued a red typhoon alert on Sunday morning, representing the most severe warning in the country's four-tier system. However, Chinaview reported that the meteorological authority had earlier upgraded its emergency response to Level III and raised the warning from yellow to orange on Saturday, when the typhoon was located approximately 440 kilometres southeast of Wenzhou, packing winds of up to 45 metres per second near its centre. Zhejiang province subsequently raised its own typhoon emergency response to Level I, the highest tier.

Chief forecaster Xu Yinglong at the NMC stated that compared with Typhoon Bavi, which made landfall in July, Typhoon Dolphin may bring stronger winds and heavier rainfall. The Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration jointly issued a red alert for flash floods across 23 contiguous counties, cities, and districts in Zhejiang, while more than 4,000 local monitors inspected over 7,500 geological disaster risk areas.

Transport networks across eastern China have experienced severe paralysis. State broadcaster CCTV reported that nearly 1,400 flights to and from Shanghai's two main passenger airports were cancelled on Sunday. According to Chinaview, Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport planned to cancel 871 and 513 flights respectively, accounting for nearly 60 percent of scheduled air traffic. Meanwhile, Hangzhou airport in neighbouring Zhejiang province saw 270 inbound and outbound flights cancelled. Railway networks have also been affected, with train services suspended in the Yangtze River Delta and passengers facing widespread cancellations at transit hubs like Ningbo railway station.

Maritime and offshore operations ground to a halt ahead of the storm. Xinhua reported that Zhejiang suspended all 162 of its passenger ferry routes, halted work at 193 offshore projects, and recalled 474 construction vessels to port by Friday morning. In Fujian, 55 passenger ferry routes were suspended, 115 offshore construction sites were halted, and all 1,210 registered fishing boats in Fuding returned to port.

Mass evacuations accompanied the sweeping closures. In Fujian province, 98,900 people were relocated from risky areas by Saturday evening, according to Xinhua. In Shanghai, where a blue typhoon alert was issued on Friday, authorities evacuated 30,300 residents from vulnerable zones, with further evacuations expected on Sunday alongside the temporary closure of more than 20 scenic sites.

The arrival of Typhoon Dolphin follows closely on the heels of Typhoon Noul, which lashed southern Guangdong province two weeks prior after causing fatalities and structural damage in the Philippines.

Impact and Emergency Response Overview

• National Meteorological Centre Alert: Red typhoon alert issued for extraordinary torrential rain across Zhejiang, Shanghai, Fujian, Anhui, and Jiangsu.
• Shanghai Airports: Nearly 1,400 flights cancelled, representing roughly 60 percent of daily traffic across Pudong and Hongqiao airports.
• Evacuations: Nearly 99,000 residents relocated in Fujian province; 30,300 residents evacuated in Shanghai.
• Marine and Transport: Hundreds of ferry routes suspended across Zhejiang and Fujian; hundreds of construction vessels recalled to port; regional train services halted.

Meteorological authorities project that after making landfall, Typhoon Dolphin will gradually weaken while moving in a northwesterly direction over eastern China. Heavy precipitation and strong winds are expected to persist through Monday afternoon across Shanghai and surrounding provinces before the system dissipates further.