Typhoon Dolphin made landfall in the densely populated east coast, meteorological authorities said, after the storm triggered more than 1,000 flight cancellations, evacuations and a top-level alert.
China’s east coast has been preparing for the storm’s arrival in recent days, with work and transport services suspended in some areas along its predicted path.
The centre of the typhoon moved over the coastline near Yuhuan City in Zhejiang province at about 5.30pm, China’s National Meteorological Centre (NMC) said in an online post.
Maximum wind speeds near the centre were more than 150 kph at the time it made landfall, the NMC said.
Nearly 1,400 flights in and out of Shanghai’s two main passenger airports were cancelled on Sunday, CCTV reported.
Hangzhou’s airport in nearby Zhejiang province saw 270 inbound and outbound flights cancelled, the report said.
The effects were felt as far away as Hong Kong, where the weather observatory posted a record high temperature of 36.9°C, caused by warm air pushed over the city by Typhoon Dolphin.
With the storm “moving towards the vicinity of Zhejiang and moving inland, its outer subsiding air will persistently bring extremely hot weather to the territory today to Tuesday”, the Hong Kong Observatory said.
Typhoon Dolphin brought heavy rain and strong winds to Japan’s Okinawa before reaching China.
Seven people in Okinawa suffered minor injuries, including a man aged over 100 who was blown over by gusts, fell on the ground and hit his head.
In Taiwan, dozens of ferry services were suspended and more than 180 flights were cancelled as the storm brought downpours and strong winds to the island’s north yesterday.
The NMC issued a red typhoon alert – its most severe warning – yesterday morning, forecasting “extraordinary torrential rain” in some areas of central and eastern Zhejiang.
Heavy precipitation is also expected to fall in Shanghai and parts of Fujian, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces through today afternoon, it said.
Typhoon Dolphin was expected to weaken after making landfall while moving in a northwesterly direction over eastern China.
In Fujian, nearly 99,000 people were relocated from “risky areas” on Saturday ahead of the storm’s arrival, Xinhua reported. — AFP
