Overview
- China's National Meteorological Center issued its highest-level typhoon warning on Sunday as Dolphin approached landfall, with forecasts placing the hit late Sunday night or Monday morning.
- Authorities ordered large-scale evacuations, including almost 99,000 people moved out of risk zones in Fujian, and tens of thousands more affected in Zhejiang and neighbouring areas.
- Transport networks were shut down preemptively with nearly 1,400 flight cancellations at Shanghai airports, about 270 cancellations at Hangzhou, more than 200 ferry routes suspended and some train services halted.
- Forecasters warned of exceptionally heavy rain in parts of Zhejiang and strong winds and heavy showers expected to reach Shanghai, Fujian, Anhui and Jiangsu through Monday afternoon, raising flood and wind-damage risks.
- Dolphin has already battered Okinawa, injuring seven, and follows recent storms such as Typhoon Noul that caused fatalities in the Philippines, a pattern that increases strain on emergency services and infrastructure.