Flights Cancelled, Evacuations as Typhoon Dolphin Hits China

Typhoon Dolphin slammed into eastern China on Sunday, bringing powerful winds and heavy rain to one of the country's most populated regions. The storm made landfall near Yuhuan City in Zhejiang Province at around 5:30 p.m. local time. Chinese authorities issued their highest-level storm warning and ordered hundreds of thousands of people to leave their homes. Before hitting China, the typhoon had already caused damage in Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines.

China's National Meteorological Centre said wind speeds near the storm's centre topped 150 kilometres per hour when it came ashore. Forecasters warned that some areas could receive 200 to 400 millimetres of rain over the next few days. That much rain creates a serious risk of flooding and landslides. Authorities in Zhejiang Province put out warnings about both dangers.

The storm caused major travel problems across the region. Nearly 1,400 flights in and out of Shanghai's two main airports were cancelled on Sunday. Another 270 flights were cancelled at Hangzhou's airport in nearby Zhejiang Province. Train services in some areas were also stopped to keep passengers safe, and more than 200 ferry routes were shut down.

Hundreds of thousands of people were told to leave their homes before the storm arrived. In the city of Taizhou in Zhejiang, around 390,000 people were evacuated on Saturday evening. In Shanghai, more than 30,000 people were moved out of risky areas. In Fujian Province, nearly 99,000 people were relocated from dangerous zones as well.

The effects of the typhoon were felt far beyond where it made landfall. In Hong Kong, on China's southern coast, the storm pushed warm air over the city and caused a record high temperature of 36.9 degrees Celsius. The Hong Kong weather office said the extremely hot conditions would last from Sunday through Tuesday. Meanwhile, work on offshore construction projects was halted, and nearly 500 vessels were called back to port.

In Japan's Okinawa, the typhoon caused damage before moving on to China. Seven people suffered minor injuries there, including a man over 100 years old who was knocked over by strong gusts and hit his head. More than 5,200 households lost power on the island by Sunday afternoon. In Taiwan, dozens of ferry services and more than 180 flights were cancelled as the storm brought heavy rain and strong winds.

The Philippines also felt the storm's impact, with a landslide hitting three houses in the mountain city of Baguio and leaving seven people missing. Scientists say storms like Typhoon Dolphin are becoming more common because of human-driven climate change, which is making extreme weather more frequent and intense worldwide. Typhoon Dolphin arrived in China just two weeks after Typhoon Noul, which had been called the strongest storm to hit China this year. The back-to-back typhoons show how active and dangerous this storm season has been for the region.