1,600 Flights Grounded as Typhoon Dolphin Nears China
China’s densely populated eastern coast is preparing for the arrival of Typhoon Dolphin, which has triggered over 1,000 flight cancellations, evacuations, and a top-level alert from authorities. Nearly 1,400 flights in and out of Shanghai’s two main passenger airports had been cancelled on Sunday, state broadcaster CCTV reported. In Hangzhou’s airport in nearby Zhejiang province, 270 inbound and outbound flights were cancelled.
The storm, which brought heavy rain and strong winds to Japan’s Okinawa in recent days, is expected to make landfall late Sunday or early Monday in Zhejiang or its neighbouring province of Fujian. Seven people in Okinawa suffered minor injuries, including a man aged over 100 who was blown by gusts, fell on the ground and hit his head. By Sunday afternoon, 5,290 households in Okinawa were without electricity.
In Taiwan, dozens of ferry services were suspended and more than 180 flights were cancelled as the storm brought downpours and strong winds to the island’s north on Sunday. China’s National Meteorological Centre issued a red typhoon alert, its most severe warning, on Sunday morning, forecasting “extraordinary torrential rain” in some areas of central and eastern Zhejiang. Heavy precipitation is also expected to fall in Shanghai and parts of Fujian, Anhui, and Jiangsu provinces through Monday afternoon.
In Fujian, nearly 99,000 people had been relocated from “risky areas” on Saturday evening ahead of the storm’s arrival. Services on more than 200 ferry routes were suspended in Zhejiang and Fujian. Work at offshore projects had been halted, while 474 construction vessels had been called to port by Friday morning. Some train services in affected areas had also been suspended on Sunday to ensure passenger safety.
This comes two weeks after Typhoon Noul lashed southern Guangdong province, declared by authorities at the time as the strongest to hit China this year. Three people were killed and hundreds of homes were damaged by Typhoon Noul in the Philippines before reaching China.
The situation is being closely monitored, with updates expected as the storm progresses. Residents in the affected areas are advised to follow the instructions of local authorities and take necessary precautions to ensure their safety.
