China’s densely populated eastern coast was bracing on Sunday for the arrival of Typhoon Dolphin, which has triggered more than 1,000 flight cancellations, evacuations, and a top-level weather alert from authorities, news agency AFP reported.
Nearly 1,400 flights to and from Shanghai’s two main passenger airports were cancelled on Sunday, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Hangzhou airport in neighbouring Zhejiang province also saw 270 inbound and outbound flights cancelled, the report said.
Typhoon Dolphin, which brought heavy rain and strong winds to Japan’s Okinawa in recent days, is expected to make landfall late Sunday or early Monday in Zhejiang or neighbouring Fujian province.
Seven people in Okinawa suffered minor injuries, including a man aged over 100 who was blown over by strong gusts, fell to the ground and hit his head, according to the island’s government.
By Sunday afternoon, 5,290 households in Okinawa were without electricity, according to regional utility Okinawa Electric Power.
China issues red alert as Typhoon Dolphin nears landfall
In Taiwan, dozens of ferry services were suspended and more than 180 flights were cancelled as the storm brought heavy rain and strong winds to the island’s north on Sunday.
China’s National Meteorological Centre (NMC) issued a red typhoon alert — its most severe warning — on Sunday morning, forecasting “extraordinary torrential rain” in some areas of central and eastern Zhejiang.
Heavy rainfall is also expected in Shanghai and parts of Fujian, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces through Monday afternoon, the NMC said.
After making landfall, Typhoon Dolphin is expected to weaken as it moves northwestward over eastern China.
In Fujian, nearly 99,000 people had been relocated from “risky areas” on Saturday evening ahead of the storm’s arrival, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Services on more than 200 ferry routes were suspended in Zhejiang and Fujian, Xinhua said.
Typhoon Dolphin: Offshore projects halted, train services suspended
Work at offshore projects had been halted, while 474 construction vessels had been called to port by Friday morning, Xinhua added.
Some train services in affected areas were also suspended on Sunday to ensure passenger safety, state media reported.
Typhoon Dolphin’s arrival in China comes two weeks after Typhoon Noul lashed southern Guangdong province, which authorities had declared the strongest typhoon to hit China this year at the time.
Three people were killed and hundreds of homes were damaged by Typhoon Noul in the Philippines before it reached China.
(With AFP inputs)
Typhoon Dolphin nears landfall, China cancels flights and orders evacuations
