Typhoon Dolphin hits eastern China, more than one million evacuated

Typhoon Dolphin made landfall on China's eastern coast, causing torrential rain and strong hurricane-force winds. Over one million people were evacuated in the affected regions. The typhoon, the strongest to hit China this year, made landfall near Yuhuan in eastern Zhejiang province at around 5:30pm on Sunday. It had maximum sustained winds of 151km/h (93mph), equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane.

Authorities warned of severe flooding and landslide risks as the storm moved inland and continued to bring heavy rain to densely populated areas. Shanghai evacuated at least 30,300 people and canceled about 1,400 flights. Wenzhou in Zhejiang province relocated more than 900,000 residents and opened over 1,000 emergency shelters.

Taizhou in Zhejiang city evacuated about 390,000 people by Saturday evening. In Fujian province, around 98,900 people were evacuated from high-risk areas. Authorities took various precautions including moving offshore workers to safety, ordering vessels back to port, and stepping up inspections of vulnerable areas. Forecasters predicted torrential rain through August 10 across several provinces.

China's Ministry of Water Resources warned about potential major flooding in major rivers. After making landfall, Dolphin was expected to track westward and weaken gradually over central and southwestern China.