Severe Typhoon Dolphin Approaches Eastern China, Prompting Mass Evacuations and Transport Halts

China's meteorological and emergency management authorities have elevated response levels as Typhoon Dolphin, the 13th typhoon of the year, approaches the eastern coast. Maintaining severe typhoon intensity, Dolphin is projected to make landfall between Zhoushan, Zhejiang, and Fuding, Fujian, between the night of August 9 and the morning of August 10. In response, regional authorities have suspended coastal transport, closed tourist sites, evacuated over 90,000 residents in Fujian, and proactively lowered municipal river levels to prepare for intense rainfall.

Typhoon Dolphin poses a direct threat to heavily populated economic hubs along China's eastern seaboard. The rapid, preventive suspension of maritime traffic, flight cancellations, and mass evacuations across Zhejiang, Fujian, and Shanghai highlight China's centralized emergency coordination while testing the resilience of urban infrastructure against heavy rainfall and severe gale-force winds.

Severe Typhoon Dolphin, the 13th named storm of the season, is bearing down on China's eastern seaboard, prompting sweeping preventive measures across Zhejiang, Fujian, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Anhui, state media reported on August 8. The storm is projected to make landfall along the coast between Zhoushan in Zhejiang province and Fuding in Fujian province between the night of August 9 and the morning of August 10. National weather forecasters issued orange warnings for typhoons and rainstorms alongside a blue warning for severe convective weather on August 8. In response, the National Headquarter for Flood Control and Drought Relief initiated Level IV emergency responses for Jiangsu and Anhui while maintaining Level III responses for Zhejiang and Fujian, dispatching specialized workgroups to assist local disaster mitigation efforts. Provincial governments have enacted strict safety protocols. Zhejiang raised its typhoon emergency response to Level II on August 8, suspending all coastal ferry routes and port operations while shuttering over 1,000 cultural and tourism venues. Local airports across Zhejiang had canceled 312 flights by 18:00 that evening, and emergency teams in Linhai City mobilized heavy machinery to prepare flood relief supplies. In neighboring Fujian, where coastal areas logged winds exceeding Beaufort scale 8, more than 90,000 people were evacuated or relocated, according to China News Service. Fujian maritime authorities ordered all 115 offshore construction projects to stop, halted 40 passenger ferry routes, and recalled more than 59,000 marine vessels to port. Farther north, Shanghai initiated flood prevention measures on August 7, using 3,045 water sluices to lower municipal river network levels. Municipal authorities expect to free up approximately 450 million cubic meters of water storage capacity by August 9 to absorb expected heavy rainfall. Continuous downpours and strong winds are anticipated across East China through early next week as the typhoon makes landfall and moves inland.