Typhoon Dolphin floods eastern China after landfall in Zhejiang, over one million evacuated

Landfall and impact

Typhoon Dolphin struck China's eastern coast on Sunday evening, making landfall in Zhejiang province with winds of 151 km/h (93 mph). Italian wire reports placed the first landfall near Yuhuan in Zhejiang, followed by a second landfall near Wenzhou about an hour later. It was the 13th typhoon to reach the country this year and the strongest to strike China in 2026. Dolphin had traveled approximately 6,000 km across the East China Sea before reaching the mainland, having already brought heavy rain to Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines. Chinese meteorologists expected the storm to persist for more than 15 days, roughly three times longer than an average typhoon. The last comparable storm was Doksuri in 2023, which killed 107 people.

Evacuations and flooding

Authorities evacuated more than one million people from high-risk areas across eastern China. In Shanghai alone, 215,600 people were moved from danger zones, far exceeding the initial estimate of 30,300. Fujian province evacuated nearly 168,000, and more than 390,000 were preemptively relocated in Taizhou. At least 760,000 people were forced to relocate in total before the storm arrived. A weather station in central Shanghai recorded nearly 313 mm of rain in the 24 hours to 7 a.m. on Monday, the highest in over 150 years of records. Another station in the city measured nearly 400 mm. Streets across Shanghai, China's second-most populous city, were submerged, including areas around major shopping centres and the landmark Wukang Mansion.

Transport disruption

Shanghai's Hongqiao and Pudong airports cancelled more than 900 flights on Monday, about 40 percent of those scheduled, after roughly 1,300 were cancelled the previous day, according to the Shanghai Airport Group. Public transport services across the city, including metro lines and local trains, were suspended. China Railway Chengdu Group suspended 115 trains. Ningbo airport in Zhejiang, about 150 km south of Shanghai, announced it would resume flight operations from noon on Monday, though it warned of possible delays and cancellations. In Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang, authorities temporarily closed West Lake scenic spots, temples, parks and museums, with reopening expected on Tuesday.

Storm moves inland

After weakening to a tropical storm, Dolphin moved northwest at 15 to 20 km/h toward central China. The National Meteorological Centre maintained an orange warning, the second-highest level, for Hubei province, where up to 250 mm of rain was expected within 24 hours in the northwest. Authorities in Xiangyang issued a yellow warning and cited elevated risks of flooding and landslides. Some areas of Hubei could see precipitation reach 270 mm. The storm's influence was expected to reach as far as Beijing, with heavy rainfall forecast. Meanwhile, southern China experienced a heat wave, with record temperatures in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, described by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV as a side effect of the typhoon's circulation: areas on the outer edge of the storm received descending air currents producing clear, hot weather.

Toll in the Philippines

Dolphin did not directly hit the Philippines but intensified seasonal monsoon rains across the northern island region of Luzon. A landslide in the mountain resort city of Baguio buried three houses on Sunday night, killing 10 people whose bodies were recovered over two days of search by rescuers. Three people were rescued with injuries and brought to a hospital. The government's Office of Civil Defense said the deaths raised the toll from nearly a week of torrential rains, floods and a tropical storm in northern Luzon to 19. More than one million people were affected by the heavy monsoon rains and floods, including about 98,000 who were displaced.