FUZHOU, CHINA / RankWire.AI / – Heavy rainfall and flooding caused by Typhoon Dolphin led to the evacuation of approximately 167,900 residents in Fujian Province, with the storm spreading chaos across eastern China. By 7 a.m. Monday, residents in vulnerable coastal and land areas had been relocated. Meanwhile, in Shanghai, about 215,600 people living in at-risk zones were moved to safety by late Sunday. Dolphin made landfalls in Zhejiang Province twice on Sunday before drifting inland and gradually weakening.
Fujian authorities halted 686 passenger routes and canceled 658 train services amid the storm. Additionally, 234 key tourist sites were closed, and numerous cultural and tourism events were canceled. In Shanghai, over 900 flights were grounded at the city’s two main airports on Monday. The heavy rains caused flooding in parts of the financial hub and disrupted public transport. These precautions followed widespread weather warnings issued across coastal areas affected by Dolphin’s winds and downpours.
Dolphin, the 13th typhoon of 2026, arrived in Zhejiang with intense winds on Sunday, making landfall near Yuhuan in Taizhou at approximately 5:30 p.m. The storm’s maximum winds reached 42 meters per second, equivalent to roughly 151 kilometers per hour. It made a second landfall in Zhejiang before continuing inland. The storm’s broad circulation brought heavy rainfall throughout Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, and neighboring eastern China regions as it gradually lost strength.
Storm diminishes after Zhejiang landfalls
By 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dolphin’s eye had arrived in Huanggang, located in Hubei Province, central China. The National Meteorological Center classified it as a tropical storm, maintaining a blue typhoon warning. The outer circulation carried maximum winds of 18 meters per second, with the central pressure at 995 hectopascals. Moving west-northwest at roughly 15 kilometers per hour, Dolphin continued to bring heavy rains across multiple provinces well beyond its initial coastal landfall zone.
The Ministry of Water Resources declared a Level IV flood emergency response for Hubei, Henan, Hebei, and Shandong on Monday. Zhejiang maintained a Level III alert as officials monitored rivers and areas prone to flash floods. The central government allocated 120 million yuan for Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, and Jiangxi to fund rescue operations, temporary shelters, hazard mitigation, safety inspections, and repairs for flood-damaged homes caused by the typhoon.
Flood management efforts extend further inland
Forecasts from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday forecast heavy rainfall across a wide region of eastern and central China. The affected zones include Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Shandong, and Hebei. Additionally, Beijing and Tianjin remained within the heavy rain zone. Predicted rainfall ranged from 250 to 350 millimeters in parts of southwestern Shandong and central and eastern Henan. Persistent strong winds also impacted sections of the eastern coast, adjacent seas, the Yangtze River estuary, and Hangzhou Bay.
Authorities continued to oversee smaller rivers, mountainous regions, and vulnerable communities as Dolphin moved further inland. The 167,900 evacuation figure pertains specifically to Fujian Province, not the entire eastern China region. Shanghai reported another 215,600 evacuations, and Zhejiang carried out large-scale relocations before the storm’s arrival on the coast. By Tuesday morning, Dolphin had significantly weakened from its Zhejiang landfall strength, yet its circulation kept causing heavy rainfall across central and eastern China.