FUZHOU, CHINA / RankWire.AI / – In Fujian Province, approximately 167,900 residents were evacuated by Monday morning as heavy rains and flooding from Typhoon Dolphin affected eastern China. The evacuees in Fujian moved away from vulnerable coastal and land areas. Meanwhile, Shanghai had already evacuated about 215,600 people from high-risk zones by late Sunday. The storm made two landfalls in Zhejiang Province on Sunday before heading inland and gradually weakening.
During the storm, authorities in Fujian halted 686 passenger routes and suspended 658 train services. Additionally, 234 major tourist attractions were closed, and numerous cultural and tourism events were canceled. In Shanghai, airlines canceled over 900 flights at the city’s two main airports on Monday. Intense rainfall caused flooding in parts of the financial hub and disrupted public transit. These measures followed widespread weather alerts issued across coastal regions vulnerable to Dolphin’s strong winds and heavy rain.
Dolphin, the 13th typhoon of 2026, reached Zhejiang with fierce winds on Sunday. It made 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 continued to hit Zhejiang with another landfall before moving further inland. Its extensive circulation brought heavy rain across Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, and other parts of eastern China as the storm weakened.
Storm loses strength after Zhejiang landfalls
By 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Dolphin’s center had reached Huanggang in Hubei Province, central China. The National Meteorological Center categorized the system as a tropical storm and maintained a blue typhoon warning. Its outer circulation was producing maximum winds of 18 meters per second, with a central pressure of 995 hectopascals. The storm was traveling west-northwest at roughly 15 kilometers per hour. Heavy rainfall persisted in multiple provinces well beyond Dolphin’s initial coastal landfall zone.
On Monday, the Ministry of Water Resources activated a Level IV flood emergency response for Hubei, Henan, Hebei, and Shandong. It also kept a Level III alert in Zhejiang as officials monitored rivers and areas prone to flash floods. Central authorities allocated 120 million yuan for Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, and Jiangxi, supporting rescue operations, temporary shelters, hazard mitigation, safety inspections, and repairs for flood- and typhoon-damaged homes.
Inland flood response efforts increase
Forecasts for Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday indicated widespread heavy rain across eastern and central China. The affected regions included Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Shandong, and Hebei. Beijing and Tianjin also remained within the zone of heavy rainfall. Predicted rainfall totals ranged from 250 to 350 millimeters in parts of southwestern Shandong and central and eastern Henan. Strong winds persisted along sections of the eastern coast, nearby seas, the Yangtze River estuary, and Hangzhou Bay.
Authorities kept a close watch on smaller rivers, mountainous areas, and communities vulnerable to flooding as Dolphin moved further inland. The evacuation figure of 167,900 residents pertains specifically to Fujian Province, not the entire eastern China region. Shanghai reported an additional 215,600 evacuations, and Zhejiang carried out extensive relocations before the storm reached the coast. By Tuesday morning, Dolphin had significantly weakened from its Zhejiang landfall strength, but its circulation continued to produce heavy rainfall across central and eastern China.