Over 1.5M people evacuated as Typhoon Dolphin batters eastern China

More than 1.5 million people have been evacuated across eastern China as Typhoon Dolphin battered the region with torrential rains and powerful winds, disrupting flights, railways, and maritime transport, local media reported Monday.

Some 900,000 residents were relocated in Wenzhou, while about 390,000 were evacuated in Taizhou in eastern Zhejiang province earlier.

More than 215,000 others were moved from vulnerable areas in Shanghai, according to China Daily on Monday.

Over 1,000 flights were canceled in Shanghai alone on Monday, as the storm disrupted operations at Pudong International and Hongqiao airports.

Dolphin, the 13th typhoon of the year and the strongest to hit China this year, initially packed maximum winds of around 150 kilometers (93 miles) per hour when it made landfall in Yuhuan, Zhejiang.

It made a second landfall in Wenzhou about an hour later before weakening into a tropical storm.

Heavy rainfall continued across eastern China on Monday, with authorities warning of flooding and landslides as the system moved northward.

Parts of Zhejiang could receive between 250 and 500 millimeters (around 10-20 inches) of rainfall in the coming days.

Shanghai suspended four metro routes, restricted services on several others, and closed the Donghai Bridge and dozens of flooded underpasses.

In Taizhou, 3,815 fishing vessels took shelter, while all 18 passenger ferry routes were suspended.

Authorities have reported no deaths, though a 9-year-old boy was reported missing in Zhejiang after being swept into the sea.