SHANGHAI/BEIJING, Aug 10 — Torrential rain and storms in Typhoon Dolphin's wake inundated several provinces in China's east, drenching the coastal region and flooding streets in Shanghai, where around 40 per cent of flights were grounded today due to the weather.
Dolphin packed maximum sustained winds of 151 km/h near its centre when it made landfall in Zhejiang, the province to the south and west of Shanghai, yesterday evening before weakening to a tropical storm.
Its remaining rain clouds continued to soak the eastern provinces, including Anhui, Jiangsu, and Shandong, today.
Many streets in Shanghai, the country's second most populated city, were flooded, including in the main commercial centres.
State broadcaster CCTV reported that the city's two airports cancelled 943 flights due to the typhoon, reducing capacity by nearly 40 per cent.
Earlier today, China Eastern Airlines said that it was trying to resume flights to Shanghai, Zhejiang, and other destinations in an "orderly manner."
Many streets in Shanghai's suburban Jiading and Qingpu districts, around the city centre, remained waterlogged, according to live streams shared by residents on social media. The live videos, not verified by Reuters, showed people wading through knee-high murky water.
"It rained almost all night last night. When I woke up this morning, I found the neighbourhood flooded, and the streets were severely flooded," said 39-year-old Hou Lina, who works in sales in Jiading in Shanghai.
"I have lived in Shanghai for 10 years, and this is the first time I have experienced such inconvenience from a typhoon. This is the first time I have encountered such widespread flooding," said Hou Lina, 39, who works in sales in Jiading, Shanghai, to Reuters.
In Shanghai's Jinshan, the district authority said non-essential businesses and organisations could temporarily halt operations, classes, outdoor events, and transit services, amid forecasts of continued strong winds and heavy rain today.
Powerful winds and lashing rain flipped over a truck in Zhejiang's Wenzhou, as shown in a video posted on TikTok yesterday. It was not clear what happened to the driver.
Rain and flood warnings for Beijing
The strongest typhoon to hit China this year, Dolphin is forecast to move farther inland into the central provinces of Hubei and Henan in the coming days while also pushing moisture northward.
Authorities in the capital, Beijing, issued warnings of torrential rain and said the city was prepared to activate its flood-control response tomorrow morning.
Beijing is expected to experience "significant rainfall" from tomorrow until Thursday (August 13), with authorities warning of the risk of flash floods in the city and landslides in the surrounding mountainous areas.
CCTV also reported that the typhoon had already travelled 6,000km before it made landfall, giving it a life cycle three times longer than that of an ordinary typhoon and bringing with it an ultra-large cloud system that enveloped eastern China.
The typhoon had already travelled 6,000km before it made landfall, giving it a life-cycle three
Dolphin's impact was also being compared to Doksuri in 2022. That typhoon crossed the country after causing destruction in southeastern Fujian province, unleashing record-breaking rainfall in Beijing.
As the storm clouds meet colder air in the north, Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei will need to brace for rains today, according to CCTV.
