FUZHOU, CHINA / RankWire.AI / – As Typhoon Dolphin swept through eastern China, approximately 167,900 residents in Fujian Province were forced to evacuate due to heavy rain and flooding. By 7 a.m. Monday, those in vulnerable land and coastal regions had been moved to safer locations. Separately, in Shanghai, authorities evacuated about 215,600 people from areas considered at risk by late Sunday. Dolphin made two landfalls in neighboring Zhejiang Province on Sunday before heading inland and gradually weakening.
During the storm, Fujian officials suspended 686 passenger routes and 658 train services as part of their response efforts. They also shut down 234 major tourist sites and canceled numerous cultural and tourism events. In Shanghai, airlines canceled over 900 flights at the city’s two primary airports on Monday. Heavy rainfall caused localized flooding and disrupted public transit, following widespread weather warnings across coastal areas vulnerable to Dolphin’s winds and downpour.
Dolphin, the 13th typhoon of 2026, made landfall in Zhejiang with strong winds on Sunday, striking near Yuhuan in Taizhou around 5:30 p.m. with peak sustained winds of 42 meters per second, approximately 151 kilometers per hour. The storm then hit Zhejiang again before moving further inland, bringing heavy rainfall across Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, and other eastern regions as its strength diminished.
Storm weakens following Zhejiang landfalls
By 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dolphin’s eye had reached Huanggang in central China’s Hubei Province. 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 rain across several provinces beyond its initial coastal landfall zone.
On Monday, the Ministry of Water Resources declared a Level IV flood emergency response for Hubei, Henan, Hebei, and Shandong, while sustaining a Level III alert in Zhejiang to monitor river conditions and flash flood risks. Additionally, central authorities allocated 120 million yuan to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, and Jiangxi to support rescue operations, temporary shelters, hazard mitigation, safety inspections, and repairs for homes impacted by the flooding and storm.
Inland flood measures intensify amid storm progression
Forecasts from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday indicated widespread heavy rainfall across a broad swath of eastern and central China. Affected regions included Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Shandong, and Hebei, with Beijing and Tianjin also experiencing heavy rain. Predicted rainfall ranged from 250 to 350 millimeters in some parts of southwestern Shandong and central and eastern Henan. Along with the rain, strong winds persisted along sections of the eastern coast, adjacent seas, the Yangtze River estuary, and Hangzhou Bay.
Authorities continued monitoring smaller rivers, mountainous regions, and vulnerable communities as Dolphin moved further inland. The 167,900 evacuations in Fujian refer specifically to that province, rather than the entire eastern China region. Shanghai reported an additional 215,600 evacuations, and Zhejiang also executed large-scale relocations before the storm’s coast arrival. By Tuesday morning, Dolphin had significantly weakened from its Zhejiang landfall strength, but its circulation still caused heavy rainfall across central and eastern China.