BEIJING, Aug 9 (Reuters) – Typhoon Dolphin is set to make landfall on China’s east coast on Sunday, bringing torrential rain and powerful winds, as authorities brace for flooding and landslides across a broad swathe of eastern China.
Typhoon Dolphin has already swept through Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture, injuring six people and cutting power to more than 50,000 buildings. Before its landfall in China, authorities moved offshore workers to safety, ordered vessels back to port and increased checks at reservoirs, mountain streams, landslide-prone areas, construction sites and tourist locations.
Dolphin will be the most powerful typhoon to make landfall in China so far this year.
The storm is expected to hit the coast on Sunday evening with sustained winds of up to 162 kilometres per hour (101 mph) before weakening and moving inland, China’s National Meteorological Centre said. That is equal to a Category 2 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, a storm capable of producing extensive damage to homes, trees and infrastructure.
Torrential rain is forecast through August 10 across Zhejiang, Shanghai, northern Fujian, northeastern Jiangxi, central and southern Anhui, and much of Jiangsu. Parts of central and eastern Zhejiang could receive 250-500 mm (9.8-19.7 inches) of rain, according to forecasters.
After landfall, Dolphin is forecast to track westward before slowing over central and southwestern China and gradually losing strength, Wang Haiping, chief forecaster at the National Meteorological Centre, told state broadcaster CCTV.
That could prolong heavy rain and raise the risk of flooding and landslides, especially in mountainous areas and along smaller rivers.
Typhoon Dolphin has triggered mass evacuations and widespread transport disruptions across eastern China, with more than 1 million people moved to safety.
Shanghai has evacuated at least 30,300 people and cancelled about 1,500 flights, according to flight-tracking data provider VariFlight.
A 44-year-old tourist from Guangdong, surnamed Chen, said he was stranded in Shanghai after his family’s flight, scheduled to depart on Sunday evening, was cancelled because of Typhoon Dolphin. He said the family had been rebooked on a flight at 10 p.m. on Monday, although they were unsure whether it would be able to take off.
“To us Guangdong people, this typhoon is as ordinary as having a meal and feeling the wind. It’s just part of everyday life,” Chen said, adding that the storm did not appear particularly strong by the standards of China’s southern coast.
In neighbouring Zhejiang province, the city of Wenzhou relocated more than 900,000 residents and opened more than 1,000 emergency shelters as authorities braced for the storm’s impact.
In Fujian province, authorities evacuated 98,900 people from high-risk areas after raising the typhoon emergency response to Level III, according to Xinhua. Zhejiang, Shanghai and Jiangsu have also activated Level III emergency responses. Fujian maritime authorities said 55 coastal passenger ferry routes had been suspended, all 115 offshore construction projects halted and 290 construction vessels moved to sheltered waters.
The water resources ministry said the Qiantang, Yong, Jiao and Shuiyang rivers could see major flooding, while smaller rivers in the hardest-hit areas could rise above warning levels.
Authorities warned of a high risk of geological disasters in parts of Zhejiang, while residents in areas covered by a red mountain-torrent warning were told to follow local evacuation orders.
Shanghai’s Yangshan port cleared ships from its berths and moved more than 500 small and medium-sized vessels to shelter ahead of Dolphin, the city’s maritime safety administration said.
(Reporting by Kevin Yao, Shuyan Wang, Nicoco Chan and Eduardo Baptista; editing by Lincoln Feast.)
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