FUZHOU, CHINA / RankWire.AI / – The impact of Typhoon Dolphin prompted the evacuation of approximately 167,900 residents in Fujian Province as intense rainfall and flooding expanded across eastern China. The evacuated population in Fujian was relocated from vulnerable coastal and land areas by 7 a.m. Monday, while separately, Shanghai evacuated around 215,600 individuals from zones deemed at risk by late Sunday. The storm made two landfalls in Zhejiang Province on Sunday before progressing inland and gradually weakening.
During the storm’s active phase, Fujian authorities halted 686 passenger routes and suspended 658 train services. Additionally, 234 major tourist sites were shut down, and numerous cultural and tourism events were canceled. In Shanghai, airline companies canceled over 900 flights across the city’s two main airports on Monday. Heavy rains led to flooding in parts of the financial hub and disrupted public transit systems. These measures followed widespread weather alerts issued for coastal regions exposed to Dolphin’s strong winds and persistent rainfall.
Dolphin, identified as the 13th typhoon of 2026, reached Zhejiang with formidable winds on Sunday, making landfall near Yuhuan in Taizhou around 5:30 p.m. with peak winds reaching 42 meters per second, equivalent to approximately 151 kilometers per hour. The storm made an additional landfall in Zhejiang before continuing inland, its extensive circulation causing heavy precipitation across Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, and other eastern China regions as the storm gradually weakened.
Storm diminishes after Zhejiang landfalls
By 9 a.m. Tuesday, the center of Dolphin had moved into Huanggang in China’s central Hubei Province. The National Meteorological Center classified the system as a tropical storm and maintained a blue typhoon warning. The storm’s outer circulation carried maximum winds of 18 meters per second, with a central pressure of 995 hectopascals, as it traveled west-northwest at roughly 15 kilometers per hour. Prolonged heavy rainfall persisted across multiple provinces well beyond Dolphin’s original coastal landfall zone.
On Monday, the Ministry of Water Resources activated a Level IV flood emergency response covering Hubei, Henan, Hebei, and Shandong, while maintaining a Level III alert in Zhejiang as officials kept a close eye on river levels and flash flood-prone regions. Central government authorities allocated 120 million yuan to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, and Jiangxi to support rescue operations, temporary shelters, hazard mitigation, safety inspections, and repair efforts for homes affected by the storm and flooding.
Flood management expands further inland
Forecasts for Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday indicated widespread heavy rainfall across a broad area of eastern and central China. The affected regions included Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Shandong, and Hebei, with Beijing and Tianjin also remaining within zones expected to experience significant 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 coastline, neighboring seas, the Yangtze River estuary, and Hangzhou Bay.
Authorities continued to monitor smaller rivers, mountainous regions, and communities vulnerable to flooding as Dolphin moved further inland. The evacuation figure of 167,900 pertains specifically to Fujian Province, rather than the entire eastern China region. Meanwhile, Shanghai reported an additional 215,600 evacuations, and Zhejiang conducted large-scale relocations before the storm reached the coast. By Tuesday morning, Dolphin had significantly weakened from its Zhejiang landfall intensity, but its circulation still generated heavy rainfall across central and eastern China regions.