Beijing: China’s national observatory issued a red alert—the highest level in the country’s typhoon warning system—on Sunday as Typhoon Dolphin made landfall along the eastern coast. The National Meteorological Centre reported that the typhoon made landfall across a coastal stretch spanning Sanmen in Zhejiang Province to Fuding in Fujian Province.
NMC chief forecaster Wang Haiping warned that the storm requires high vigilance due to its heavy rainfall intensity, extensive impact zone, and prolonged duration. From Sunday through Wednesday, heavy downpours and severe torrential rain are expected to affect northern Fujian, Zhejiang, Shanghai, northern Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Anhui, eastern Hubei, central and eastern Henan, and southern Shandong.
High-risk coastal areas and maritime zones across the East China Sea, Hangzhou Bay, coastal Zhejiang, and the Yangtze River Estuary are bracing for winds of Force 9 to 12 with gusts reaching Force 11 to 14, while peak gusts near the storm center could reach Force 15 to 16. Authorities have urged provinces in the storm’s path to take precautions against secondary disasters, including mountain torrents, flash floods, landslides, and severe urban waterlogging across Zhejiang, Anhui, Henan, and Hebei.
The NMC forecasts that Typhoon Dolphin will move northwestward while gradually weakening after landfall. However, its remnant low-pressure vortex is expected to turn northward after Wednesday, bringing heavy rainfall and potential torrential downpours to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, northern Shandong, and Liaoning into late week. In response to the escalating storm threat, China’s meteorological authority upgraded its emergency response for severe meteorological disasters from Level III to Level II.
