Typhoon Dolphin barrels toward China's coast after battering Japan
The storm, already blamed for injuries and blackouts in Japan's Okinawa, is expected to bring winds up to 101 mph and heavy flooding to eastern China as authorities shut ports and evacuate workers.
Typhoon Dolphin is barreling toward China's east coast, where it is expected to make landfall late Sunday or early Monday with sustained winds of up to 162 kilometers per hour (101 mph), China's National Meteorological Center said, according to Channel NewsAsia. That strength puts Dolphin on par with a Category 2 hurricane, capable of heavy damage to homes, trees and power lines.
Forecasters expect the storm to come ashore somewhere between the city of Zhoushan in Zhejiang province and Fuding in Fujian province, Deutsche Welle reported. After landfall, Dolphin is forecast to track west and slow down over central and southwestern China, gradually losing strength, chief forecaster Wang Haiping of the National Meteorological Center told state broadcaster CCTV. That slow track could mean days of heavy rain and a greater risk of flooding and landslides, particularly in mountainous areas and along smaller rivers, according to Channel NewsAsia and The Straits Times.
Rain totals could hit 500 millimeters (about 20 inches) in parts of central and eastern Zhejiang through Monday, forecasters told The Straits Times, while Deutsche Welle reported some areas could see more than 600 millimeters (23.6 inches). China's water resources ministry warned that the Qiantang, Yong, Jiao and Shuiyang rivers could see major flooding, with smaller rivers in the hardest-hit areas expected to rise above warning levels.
China has raised its coastal typhoon alert in Zhejiang to the highest level, halted port operations and suspended 162 passenger ferry routes, Deutsche Welle reported. Zhejiang and Fujian are under a Level III flood emergency, the second-highest tier in China's four-level system, while Jiangsu and Anhui are at Level IV, according to Channel NewsAsia. The emergency management ministry has sent response teams to Zhejiang and Fujian. In Shanghai, the Yangshan port cleared its berths and moved more than 500 small and medium-sized vessels to shelter, the city's maritime safety administration said.
Japan already took a hit
Before turning toward China, Dolphin tore through Japan's Okinawa prefecture on Saturday, injuring at least five people and cutting power to as many as 50,000 buildings, according to the BBC and Channel NewsAsia. Naha International Airport shut down and canceled all flights, the BBC reported. Japan's meteorological agency classified Dolphin as a
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