Severe Weather Pummels Eastern China After Typhoon Dolphin

Torrential rain and storms have ravaged eastern provinces in China following Typhoon Dolphin. The coastal areas, including Shanghai, experienced severe flooding.

The typhoon struck with winds exceeding 90 mph as it reached Zhejiang province on Sunday, before weakening to a tropical storm. Despite the downgrade, heavy rains continued to impact Anhui, Jiangsu, and Shandong on Monday.

Many streets in Jiading and Qingpu, suburban districts of Shanghai, were submerged early Monday. Social media showed footage of residents navigating through knee-high waters. These videos, yet to be verified by Reuters, underscore the deluge.

Shanghai’s airports canceled 943 flights due to the storm, cutting capacity by nearly 40% on Monday, as reported by CCTV. In Zhejiang’s Wenzhou, fierce winds and rain overturned a truck, as seen in a video on TikTok.

Dolphin was the year’s strongest typhoon in China and is expected to head towards central provinces such as Hubei and Henan soon.

Beijing authorities have heightened torrential rain alerts, preparing to enact flood control measures by Tuesday. Before hitting land, Dolphin had traveled over 3,700 miles, which is three times the distance of typical typhoons. Its extensive cloud system enveloped eastern China, reported CCTV.

The impact of Dolphin is compared to Typhoon Doksuri in 2023, which brought unprecedented rainfall to Beijing after hitting Fujian province.

As Dolphin moves northward, rains are expected in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei through Thursday, according to CCTV.