Typhoon Dolphin’s vast storm system pushes inland, threatens central China
Dolphin, the strongest typhoon to hit China this year, travelled nearly 6,000 km before making landfall over the weekend, drenching the eastern coast under a vast cloud system.
On Tuesday, Typhoon Dolphin intensified its inland journey, impacting the central Chinese province of Hubei. Chinese authorities have closed tourist sites and halted construction due to the impending extreme rainfall and potential disturbances. The typhoon, which is the strongest to affect China this year, traveled a considerable distance of nearly 6,000 km before reaching the Chinese mainland.
Hubei, a key hub for automobile and high-tech electronics manufacturing and home to over 58 million residents, is particularly vulnerable. In the wake of Typhoon Maysak, which claimed at least 11 lives and triggered two rare tornadoes in the region, Hubei's National Meteorological Center has issued an orange alert for heavy rain, representing the second-highest warning level.
The northwestern part of Hubei is expected to receive a substantial 250 mm of rain within a 24-hour period.
Local authorities in Hubei have also raised a yellow warning for cities such as Xiangyang, Huanggang, and Suizhou, signaling an increased risk of flooding and landslides. The province's scenic areas, including the renowned Three Gorges Dam tourist site in Yichang, have temporarily shut down. Moreover, out of 107 major highway and waterway construction projects in Hubei, 26 high-risk ventures have been suspended.
The typhoon's interaction with the mountains in Hubei's western region will intensify rainfall, as explained by Wang Xiaoling, the deputy director of Hubei's provincial meteorological observatory.
Hubei's southern neighbor, Henan, has also issued a red flash-flood alert as the storm continues to deliver moisture to the region. The storm's influence will extend as far north as Beijing, situated over 1,000 km away from Hubei. Several districts on the outskirts of Beijing have activated Level I emergency flood responses, preparing for the city's anticipated deluge, which may exceed one-third of its annual rainfall in just 24 hours, commencing late Tuesday.
Japan is also on alert, with the Japan Meteorological Agency forecasting typhoon Chan-hom, or Typhoon No. 15, to potentially traverse Japan's mainland later in the day.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
