Typhoon Dolphin slams eastern China with 42 m/s winds, over 1 million evacuated

Typhoon Dolphin, the 13th named storm of the year, made successive landfalls in eastern China on Sunday, unleashing torrential rain and powerful winds across Zhejiang and Fujian provinces and Shanghai.

According to China's state-run Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television, Dolphin first came ashore along the coast of Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, then made a second landfall near Leqing, also in Zhejiang, at around 6 p.m.

Wind speeds near the typhoon's center reached 42 meters per second at the time of the first landfall. In Zhejiang, gusts toppled trees and bicycles and were strong enough to knock residents off their feet.

Mass evacuations were already underway across eastern China before the storm made landfall. At least 210,000 people were evacuated from Zhejiang, Fujian and Shanghai, and Reuters estimated that more than 1 million people had been evacuated across areas in the typhoon's path.

Shanghai was inundated in multiple areas as heavy rain fell from Sunday morning. More than 100 roads and underpasses flooded, and daily rainfall exceeded 200 millimeters in some parts of the city. Residents were seen navigating flooded streets on electric scooters.

Transportation networks were thrown into disarray. About 1,400 flights — roughly 60 percent of all scheduled services — were canceled at Shanghai's Pudong and Hongqiao airports. Around 300 flights were also grounded at Hangzhou airport, while all flights were suspended at airports in Ningbo, Taizhou, Lishui and Zhoushan. Major ports including Ningbo-Zhoushan Port and the Port of Shanghai halted or adjusted operations.

Chinese authorities closed ports and tourism facilities, and in some areas suspended classes, shut businesses and halted public transportation.

China's National Meteorological Center forecast heavy rainfall to continue along eastern coastal areas through Wednesday, keeping fears of further damage alive. Authorities warned residents in parts of Zhejiang and Anhui provinces to brace for secondary disasters such as landslides and flooding from exceptionally intense downpours.

No official casualty figures from Dolphin's landfall in China have been confirmed. However, a 9-year-old boy was reported missing after being swept away by high waves off the coast of Wenling, Zhejiang, on Friday — two days before the typhoon came ashore.

Taiwan also suffered damage as Dolphin swept through. Taiwanese authorities said 632 disaster-related incidents had been reported and six people injured by Sunday afternoon.

At the port of Keelung in northern Taiwan, strong winds toppled several large containers weighing tens of tons. No injuries were reported in that incident.