BEIJING: Typhoon Dolphin is expected to make landfall on China’s east coast overnight on Sunday, bringing powerful winds and torrential rain as authorities prepare for flooding and landslides across several eastern regions.
The typhoon is forecast to reach the coast between Sunday evening and Monday with sustained winds of up to 162 kilometres per hour before weakening as it moves inland, according to China’s National Meteorological Centre.
Dolphin previously swept through Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture, where six people were injured and more than 50,000 buildings lost power.
Ahead of the storm’s arrival in China, authorities moved offshore workers to safety, ordered vessels to return to port and stepped up inspections of reservoirs, mountain streams, construction sites and areas vulnerable to landslides.
Heavy rainfall expected
Torrential rain is forecast through August 10 across Zhejiang, Shanghai, northern Fujian, northeastern Jiangxi, Anhui and much of Jiangsu.
Parts of central and eastern Zhejiang could receive between 250mm and 500mm of rainfall, forecasters said.
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After making landfall, Dolphin is expected to move westwards before slowing over central and southwestern China. Its slower movement could prolong rainfall and increase the threat of floods and landslides, particularly around mountains and smaller rivers.
China’s water resources ministry warned that the Qiantang, Yong, Jiao and Shuiyang rivers could experience major flooding, while smaller waterways in heavily affected areas could rise above warning levels.
Authorities maintained a Level III flood emergency response in Zhejiang and Fujian and Level IV in Jiangsu and Anhui. China’s four-tier emergency system ranks Level I as the most severe.
Emergency response teams have also been dispatched to Zhejiang and Fujian.
Meanwhile, Shanghai’s Yangshan port cleared vessels from its berths and moved more than 500 small and medium-sized ships to shelter as the region prepared for Typhoon Dolphin’s arrival.
