The Eye of the Storm: Typhoon Dolphin Forces Mass Evacuation of Over 1 Million People in Eastern China
More than a million people evacuated in China as record rainfall dumped on Shanghai. Wenzhou, a coastal city in Zhejiang province, said it relocated more than 900,000 people and opened more than 1,500 emergency shelters. In neighbouring Fujian, 98,900 people were moved from high-risk areas. Authorities warn that days of intense rain could trigger widespread flooding and landslides as the storm moves north and further inland.
In August 2026, Eastern China faced one of its most severe meteorological tests in recent history as Typhoon Dolphin swept across East Asia before crashing into the coastal heartlands of Zhejiang, Fujian, and the financial metropolis of Shanghai. Although the storm weakened rapidly after landfall, its vast atmospheric footprint unleashed record-breaking rainfall, forcing the emergency evacuation of over one million residents, crippling regional transportation hubs, and submerging urban landmarks under floodwaters. Beyond the immediate logistical challenge and emergency response, Typhoon Dolphin underscored a harrowing reality that urban planners and climate scientists have long warned about: the growing frequency of compound extreme weather events in heavily populated coastal corridors.
The Birth and Regional Reach of Typhoon Dolphin
Typhoon Dolphin began its journey over the warm waters of the Western Pacific Ocean, rapidly developing into a formidable tropical cyclone as it moved northwestward across East Asia. Before striking the Chinese mainland, the storm left a trail of disruption across neighboring regions. In Japan's southern Okinawa prefecture, Dolphin's powerful winds knocked out electricity to more than 50,000 buildings and caused several injuries. In Taiwan, severe downpours and strong winds prompted the suspension of ferry services and the cancellation of over 180 domestic and international flights.
The storm’s peripheral circulation also interacted dynamically with regional weather systems. In the Philippines, while the typhoon did not make direct landfall on northern Luzon, its immense circulation draw intensified the seasonal southwest monsoon, triggering widespread flooding in the capital region of Manila and surrounding provinces. Conversely, in Hong Kong, the typhoon's outer subsidence airflow compressed and heated the surrounding air, driving temperatures up to a record-breaking 36.9°C—the highest temperature ever recorded in the city's history. This dramatic juxtaposition of extreme heat in one zone and torrential inundation in another illustrated the complex atmospheric dynamics that defined Dolphin’s trajectory.
Landfall and the Historic Deluge in Shanghai
When Typhoon Dolphin made landfall along the coast of Zhejiang province, it brought staggering volumes of tropical moisture directly into mainland China’s eastern economic engine. The storm’s most defining feature was not merely its wind speed, but its sheer precipitative power. As the system pushed inland towards Shanghai, it unleashed rainfall of historical proportions.
A central weather monitoring station in Shanghai recorded nearly 313 millimeters (12.3 inches) of rainfall within a single 24-hour window ending Monday morning—marking the highest 24-hour accumulation in more than 150 years of official meteorological record-keeping. Secondary monitoring sites across the city recorded even higher figures, approaching nearly 400 millimeters. Across Zhejiang province, average rainfall between Friday evening and Monday morning reached 173 millimeters, surpassing levels recorded during previous major typhoons such as Lekima and Bavi.
In Shanghai, the unprecedented downpour overwhelmed municipal drainage systems. On Chinese social media platforms like Weibo, the phrase "Shanghai turns into the sea" quickly trended as residents uploaded videos and photographs of submerged streets and waterlogging around iconic urban sites, including the historic Wukang Mansion in the Xuhui District. Floodwaters inundated ground-floor storefronts, residential alleys, and low-lying roadways, transforming bustling commercial thoroughfares into temporary waterways.
Unprecedented Mobilization and Mass Evacuations
Facing the threat of devastating flash floods, urban inundation, and rural landslides, local and provincial authorities across eastern China executed one of the largest evacuation operations in recent years. By the time the storm made landfall, more than one million people had been preemptively relocated from high-risk coastal, mountainous, and low-lying zones across Zhejiang, Fujian, and Shanghai.
Zhejiang province bore the brunt of the human relocation effort. The coastal manufacturing hub of Wenzhou alone evacuated more than 900,000 individuals, opening over 1,500 emergency shelters equipped with food, bedding, and medical supplies. In neighboring Fujian province, emergency management teams moved nearly 99,000 residents away from landslide-prone hillsides and coastal maritime farms.
In Shanghai, evacuation figures escalated rapidly as rainfall predictions worsened; authorities relocated over 215,000 residents from vulnerable structures, coastal construction sites, and low-lying neighborhoods. In Hangzhou, the provincial capital of Zhejiang, thousands sought refuge in large public shelters set up in sports arenas and community centers while city workers operated heavy pumping equipment to clear inundated districts.
Infrastructure Paralysis and Transportation Meltdown
The onslaught of Typhoon Dolphin triggered severe operational disruptions across China's eastern transport and economic networks. As a major global trade gateway, the Shanghai metropolitan area saw its transport infrastructure brought to a near-total standstill.
Shanghai’s two major aviation hubs—Pudong International Airport and Hongqiao International Airport—were forced to cancel more than 1,300 flights as torrential rain and low visibility rendered runways unsafe. Ground transportation suffered similar disruptions; public bus routes, suburban rail connections, and key segments of Shanghai’s metro network were suspended to protect passengers from flash flooding. Farther south, Ningbo Lishe International Airport in Zhejiang temporarily halted operations, stranding thousands of travelers and delaying air cargo operations.
Subway systems in Hangzhou were temporarily shut down as water levels rose near station entrances, though partial services were restored as conditions stabilized. High-speed rail connections running along the East China Sea corridor experienced widespread cancellations and speed restrictions, disrupting supply chains and commerce across the Yangtze River Delta—one of the world's most densely interconnected industrial regions.
Inland Progression and Compound Climate Risks
Even after Dolphin rapidly weakened into a tropical storm as it moved farther inland, meteorologists warned that the danger was far from over. Weather authorities maintained an orange alert—the second-highest level in China's four-tier color-coded warning system—warning that the storm’s lingering moisture plume would continue to dump heavy rain as it tracked north and west.
Forecasters predicted that the decaying tropical system would drop an additional 200 to 400 millimeters of rain across large swaths of central and eastern China, extending into provinces such as Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, Henan, and Shandong. Because the ground in many of these provinces was already saturated from earlier summer rains, government agencies warned of heightened risks of riverine flooding, urban waterlogging, and deadly geological landslides through the middle of the week.
Climate scientists emphasize that the behavior of Typhoon Dolphin fits into a broader, well-documented pattern driven by global climate change. Rising ocean temperatures provide increased heat energy, enabling tropical cyclones to carry vastly greater quantities of moisture. Consequently, modern typhoons are increasingly capable of delivering extreme, record-breaking downpours even after their wind speeds abate.
Inland Progression and Compound Climate Risks
Even after Dolphin rapidly weakened into a tropical storm as it moved farther inland, meteorologists warned that the danger was far from over. Weather authorities maintained an orange alert—the second-highest level in China's four-tier color-coded warning system—warning that the storm’s lingering moisture plume would continue to dump heavy rain as it tracked north and west.
Forecasters predicted that the decaying tropical system would drop an additional 200 to 400 millimeters of rain across large swaths of central and eastern China, extending into provinces such as Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, Henan, and Shandong. Because the ground in many of these provinces was already saturated from earlier summer rains, government agencies warned of heightened risks of riverine flooding, urban waterlogging, and deadly geological landslides through the middle of the week.
Climate scientists emphasize that the behavior of Typhoon Dolphin fits into a broader, well-documented pattern driven by global climate change. Rising ocean temperatures provide increased heat energy, enabling tropical cyclones to carry vastly greater quantities of moisture. Consequently, modern typhoons are increasingly capable of delivering extreme, record-breaking downpours even after their wind speeds abate.
While China’s early warning systems, rapid evacuation protocols, and emergency shelter networks successfully prevented large-scale loss of life, the immense economic disruption and structural flooding in Shanghai highlight the limits of traditional urban engineering.
As global temperatures continue to rise, urban centers like Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Wenzhou must accelerate investments in "sponge city" infrastructure, permeable urban surfaces, upgraded stormwater pumping capacity, and reinforced coastal defenses.
Source: The Guardian