Tropical Storm Dolphin batters eastern China with heavy rain, strong winds

What the report says

Tropical Storm Dolphin has battered eastern China with heavy rain and strong winds after coming ashore late Sunday in Yuhuan, Zhejiang province, as a typhoon. Al Jazeera, citing AFP and Reuters, said the system carried maximum sustained winds of 151 km/h when it made landfall before weakening into a tropical storm as it moved inland.

Authorities had issued China’s highest typhoon warning level ahead of the storm and moved more than a million people from their homes. The article said Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, Fujian, Jiangxi and Shandong were among the areas affected or forecast to receive heavy rain, with some parts of Zhejiang expected to see 250-500 mm. Shanghai’s two airports also cancelled hundreds of flights, and officials urged people to stay indoors and work from home where possible.

The storm’s impact included flooding, search-and-rescue efforts and broader disruption across the region. Local media reported that a child was swept into the sea in Wenling, while state media said large numbers of residents were relocated in Wenzhou and evacuated in Shanghai and Fujian. The article said Dolphin was forecast to continue inland toward Hubei and Henan and that Beijing was preparing for significant rainfall and possible flash floods. The development matters because it highlights the continuing vulnerability of eastern and central China to severe summer storms and the risk of flooding and landslides as the weather system moves north.