Typhoon Dolphin Set to Hit Zhejiang as Shanghai Cancels Over 1,300 Flights

Typhoon Dolphin made landfall along China’s eastern coast in Zhejiang province on Sunday, prompting the country’s highest typhoon warning as authorities braced for torrential rain, powerful winds, flooding and landslides across a wide swathe of eastern China.

China’s National Meteorological Centre (NMC) said Dolphin made landfall between Sanmen in Zhejiang and Fuding in neighbouring Fujian province. Other reports placed the storm’s centre near Yuhuan in eastern Zhejiang, with maximum winds of around 151 kmph at landfall. Reuters described Dolphin as the most powerful tropical cyclone to strike China in 2026.

The NMC issued a red alert, the highest level in China’s four-tier typhoon warning system. Chief forecaster Wang Haiping said the warning reflected the storm’s intense rainfall, broad impact area and prolonged duration. The typhoon had already severely disrupted travel. More than 1,300 flights were cancelled at Shanghai’s Pudong and Hongqiao airports, while ferry services and other water-based activities were suspended in Zhejiang. Authorities also ordered mass evacuations, with more than one million people moved from vulnerable areas across affected provinces, according to Reuters.

From Sunday through Wednesday, heavy rainfall is expected across Zhejiang, Fujian, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Henan and Shandong. Some areas of central-eastern Zhejiang and southern Anhui face the threat of severe torrential rain. Forecasters warned that coastal areas and the East China Sea could experience Force 9-12 winds, with gusts reaching Force 14 and potentially higher near the typhoon’s centre. Authorities are particularly concerned about mountain torrents, flash floods, landslides and urban waterlogging. The NMC expects Dolphin to move northwestward and gradually weaken inland.