FUZHOU, CHINA / RankWire.AI / – As Typhoon Dolphin made landfall and prompted widespread flooding, China escalated its flood response efforts across multiple regions. The storm led to the evacuation of approximately 167,900 residents in Fujian Province, with authorities relocating people from vulnerable land and coastal zones by 7 a.m. Monday. Meanwhile, in Shanghai, about 215,600 individuals from high-risk areas were also evacuated by late Sunday. Dolphin struck Zhejiang Province twice on Sunday before moving further inland and gradually weakening.
In response to the storm, Fujian authorities halted 686 passenger routes and suspended 658 train services as part of their emergency measures. They also shut down 234 major tourist sites and canceled numerous cultural and tourism events. On Monday, airlines at Shanghai’s two main airports canceled over 900 flights. Heavy rains caused flooding in parts of the financial hub and disrupted public transportation systems. These actions followed extensive weather advisories issued for coastal zones affected by Dolphin’s wind and rain.
Dolphin, the 13th typhoon of 2026, arrived in Zhejiang with intense winds on Sunday, making landfall near Yuhuan in Taizhou around 5:30 p.m. with maximum sustained winds of 42 meters per second, approximately 151 kilometers per hour. The storm made another landfall in Zhejiang before heading further inland, and its broad circulation brought heavy rainfall across Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, and other eastern regions as it continued to weaken.
Storm loses strength following Zhejiang landfalls
By 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dolphin’s center had reached Huanggang in Hubei Province, central China. The National Meteorological Center classified the system as a tropical storm and maintained a blue typhoon warning. Its outer circulation carried maximum winds of 18 meters per second, with a central pressure of 995 hectopascals. Moving west-northwest at roughly 15 kilometers per hour, the storm continued to produce heavy rainfall across multiple provinces well beyond its initial coastal landfall zone.
On Monday, the Ministry of Water Resources activated a Level IV flood emergency response for Hubei, Henan, Hebei, and Shandong. Zhejiang remained under a Level III response as officials monitored rivers and flash flood-prone areas. Central government agencies allocated 120 million yuan to support rescue operations, temporary shelters, hazard mitigation, safety inspections, and repairs for homes affected by the flooding and the typhoon in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, and Jiangxi.
Inland flood response efforts expand
Forecasts for Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday predict heavy rainfall across a large part of eastern and central China. The affected areas include Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Shandong, and Hebei, with Beijing and Tianjin also falling within the heavy rain zone. Expected rainfall totals range from 250 to 350 millimeters in parts of southwestern Shandong and central and eastern Henan. Strong winds are also forecasted along sections of the eastern coast, adjacent seas, the Yangtze River estuary, and Hangzhou Bay.
Authorities continued to monitor smaller rivers, mountainous regions, and communities at risk of flooding as Dolphin moved deeper into inland areas. The 167,900 evacuations reported specifically refer to Fujian Province, not the entirety of eastern China. Shanghai also reported an additional 215,600 evacuations, while Zhejiang conducted large-scale relocations before the storm’s landfall. By Tuesday morning, Dolphin had significantly weakened from its Zhejiang landfall intensity, yet its circulation persisted, causing heavy rainfall across central and eastern China.