Chinese authorities have evacuated more than one million people from eastern China, including Shanghai, as Typhoon Dolphin made landfall with maximum sustained winds of 150 kilometres per hour (94 mph). The storm first struck Yuhuan in Zhejiang province at 17:30 local time (09:30 GMT) before hitting Wenzhou about an hour later, according to meteorological officials. The system prompted the highest-level red alert, which was downgraded to a tropical storm by Monday morning as the cyclone moved inland.
Transportation across the region has been severely disrupted. Shanghai alone cancelled 1,400 flights, while authorities in Fujian province suspended dozens of passenger ferry routes and halted more than 100 offshore construction projects. In Zhejiang, Wenzhou relocated roughly 900,000 residents and opened over 1,000 emergency shelters, and Taizhou evacuated approximately 390,000 people. Hangzhou, the provincial capital, waived parking fees in all public spaces for drivers seeking refuge from high winds and floodwaters.
Forecasters warn of torrential rains, severe flooding, and landslide risks through Wednesday. The provinces of Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and the city of Shanghai are expected to receive heavy rainfall, with parts of Zhejiang potentially seeing 250 to 500 millimetres over the coming days. Footage from state media showed ground-floor businesses flooded in Shanghai’s former French Concession, a popular tourist area, and pedestrians wading through ankle-deep water. Major attractions, including sections of Disneyland and Legoland and several viewing platforms along the Bund, remain closed.
Officials have not reported any confirmed casualties, but state media said a nine-year-old boy from Wenling, Zhejiang, is missing after being swept into the sea. Meanwhile, authorities are combating misinformation spread online. Two individuals have been detained: a 60-year-old man who allegedly created an AI-generated fake video claiming a person fell from a building in Shanghai during the storm, and a 32-year-old man who re-edited existing storm footage in a misleading manner.
According to state broadcaster CCTV, Typhoon Dolphin travelled roughly 6,000 kilometres before landfall, giving it a lifespan more than three times that of an average typhoon. The system also exhibited an unusually large circulation and intense rainfall capacity. Before reaching China, the storm brought heavy rain to the Philippines, northern Taiwan, and Japan’s Okinawa island.