Typhoon Dolphin approaches; China issues red alert, nearly 100,000 people urgently evacuated.
China's east coast is on the highest alert in response to Typhoon Dolphin. Nearly 100,000 people have been urgently evacuated, and thousands of flights and train services have been canceled ahead of the typhoon's landfall tonight (August 9) or early morning of August 10.
On the morning of August 9th, the China National Meteorological Center (NMC) issued a red storm warning – the highest level – and forecast unusually heavy rainfall in central and eastern Zhejiang province. Heavy rain is also expected to blanket Shanghai and parts of Fujian, Anhui, and Jiangsu provinces, lasting until the afternoon of August 10th.
CCTV reported that, for safety reasons, nearly 1,400 flights at Shanghai's two main airports and 270 flights at Hangzhou airport (Zhejiang) were canceled on August 9th.
Xinhua News Agency reported that more than 200 ferry services in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces have been temporarily suspended. All 474 offshore construction vessels were ordered back to port as of the morning of August 7th. Notably, Fujian province organized the emergency evacuation of nearly 99,000 people from high-risk areas on the evening of August 8th. Many railway lines have also temporarily suspended service.
Before entering China, Typhoon Dolphin swept through Okinawa Prefecture (Japan), causing heavy rain and strong winds, injuring seven people, including a centenarian who fell due to the gusts, and leaving more than 5,200 households without power.
In Taiwan (China), bad weather also caused the cancellation of dozens of ferry services and more than 180 flights on August 9th.
Typhoon Dolphin appeared just two weeks after Typhoon Noul made landfall in Guangdong province. Noul, considered the strongest typhoon to hit China this year, had previously claimed the lives of three people and destroyed hundreds of homes as it swept through the Philippines.
