FUZHOU, CHINA / RankWire.AI / – Typhoon Dolphin prompted the evacuation of approximately 167,900 residents in Fujian Province as intense rainfall and flooding spread through eastern China. By 7 a.m. Monday, residents in vulnerable land and coastal areas had been relocated. Separately, Shanghai evacuated around 215,600 people from zones deemed at risk by late Sunday. Dolphin made landfalls twice in Zhejiang Province on Sunday before progressing inland and gradually diminishing in strength.
Fujian authorities halted 686 passenger routes and 658 train services amid the storm response. 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 main airports on Monday. Heavy rains caused flooding in parts of the financial hub and disrupted public transit. These measures followed widespread weather alerts across coastal regions affected by Dolphin’s winds and rainfall.
Dolphin, the 13th typhoon of 2026, reached Zhejiang with strong winds on Sunday. It made landfall near Yuhuan in Taizhou at around 5:30 p.m. with maximum winds of 42 meters per second, equivalent to about 151 kilometers per hour. The storm made another landfall in Zhejiang before moving further inland. Its extensive circulation brought heavy rain across Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, and other eastern China areas as it weakened.
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 central pressure at 995 hectopascals. The storm was moving northwest at roughly 15 kilometers per hour. Heavy rain persisted across several provinces beyond Dolphin’s initial coastal landfall zone.
The Ministry of Water Resources activated a Level IV flood emergency response for Hubei, Henan, Hebei, and Shandong on Monday. It maintained a Level III alert in Zhejiang as officials monitored rivers and flash flood-prone areas. Central government allocated 120 million yuan for Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, and Jiangxi. The funds support rescue efforts, temporary shelters, hazard mitigation, safety inspections, and repairs to flood-damaged homes caused by the typhoon.
Inland flood response efforts expand
Forecasts for Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday indicate heavy rainfall across a wide swath of eastern and central China. Regions included Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, Hubei, Shandong, and Hebei. Beijing and Tianjin also remained under heavy rain warnings. Expected rainfall totals reached 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 continued monitoring smaller rivers, mountainous areas, and flood-prone communities as Dolphin moved further inland. The evacuation figure of 167,900 pertains specifically to Fujian Province, not the entirety of eastern China. Shanghai reported an additional 215,600 evacuations. Zhejiang also conducted extensive relocations before the storm reached the coast. By Tuesday morning, Dolphin had significantly weakened from its Zhejiang landfall strength, but its circulation still caused heavy rainfall across central and eastern China.