FUZHOU, CHINA / RankWire.AI / – As heavy rains and flooding spread across eastern China, Typhoon Dolphin prompted the evacuation of approximately 167,900 residents in Fujian Province. The displaced individuals in Fujian left vulnerable land and coastal zones by 7 a.m. Monday. Separately, Shanghai evacuated around 215,600 people from areas deemed at risk by late Sunday. Dolphin made two landfalls in neighboring Zhejiang Province on Sunday before moving further inland and gradually weakening.
During the storm, authorities in Fujian suspended 686 passenger routes and halted 658 train services. They also closed 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 flooding in parts of the financial hub and disrupted public transportation. These measures followed widespread weather alerts issued across coastal regions vulnerable to Dolphin’s winds and rain.
Dolphin, the 13th typhoon of 2026, made landfall in Zhejiang with strong winds on Sunday. It struck near Yuhuan in Taizhou around 5:30 p.m. with maximum sustained winds of 42 meters per second, equivalent to approximately 151 kilometers per hour. The storm made another landfall in Zhejiang before continuing inland. Its broad circulation brought heavy rains across Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, and other parts of eastern China as the storm lost strength.
Storm diminishes after Zhejiang landfalls
By 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dolphin’s center had reached Huanggang in Hubei Province, central China. 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. The storm was moving west-northwest at approximately 15 kilometers per hour. Heavy rain persisted across several provinces well beyond Dolphin’s original coastal landfall zone.
On Monday, the Ministry of Water Resources activated a Level IV flood emergency response for Hubei, Henan, Hebei, and Shandong, while maintaining a Level III alert in Zhejiang as officials monitored rivers and flood-prone areas. The central government allocated 120 million yuan to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, and Jiangxi to support rescue efforts, emergency shelters, hazard mitigation, safety inspections, and repairs to flood- and typhoon-damaged homes.
Flood management efforts extend inland
Forecasts for Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday anticipate heavy rainfall across a wide region of eastern and central China. The affected zones include Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Shandong, and Hebei, with Beijing and Tianjin also remaining within the heavy-rain zone. Predicted rainfall totals range from 250 to 350 millimeters in parts of southwestern Shandong and central and eastern Henan. Strong winds continue to impact sections of the eastern coast, adjacent seas, the Yangtze River estuary, and Hangzhou Bay.
Authorities continue to monitor smaller rivers, mountainous regions, and communities vulnerable to flooding as Dolphin moves further inland. The 167,900 evacuees are specifically from Fujian Province, not the entire eastern China region. Shanghai reported an additional 215,600 evacuations, and Zhejiang also carried out extensive relocations before the storm reached the coast. By Tuesday morning, Dolphin had considerably weakened from its Zhejiang landfall intensity, though its circulation still generated heavy rains across central and eastern China.