The strongest typhoon of the year battered China's eastern coast, causing transport chaos and mass evacuations. The storm is now moving inland, threatening flash floods and landslides.
The strongest typhoon to hit China this year, referred to in sources as Dupin or Delfin, struck the country's eastern coast, bringing hurricane-force winds and extreme rainfall. Chinese authorities conducted a mass evacuation of over one million residents from vulnerable coastal areas, and transport in the region has been almost completely paralyzed.
Maximum wind speeds reached 150 km/h when the typhoon first hit the city of Yuhuan in Zhejiang Province, followed shortly by nearby Wenzhou. Before making landfall, the storm had traveled about six thousand kilometers, suggesting its lifespan is more than three times longer than the average typhoon. The National Meteorological Center warned of "extraordinary downpours," with forecasts predicting between 250 and 500 millimeters of rain in parts of Zhejiang.
The scale of preventive measures was immense. Over a thousand emergency shelters were opened, and evacuations were carried out across the region. In Wenzhou, a city of nine million, more than 900,000 people left their homes. In Taizhou, 390,000 were relocated, in Fujian Province nearly 99,000, and in Shanghai at least 30,000 residents.
Transport infrastructure experienced a complete collapse. According to data from various sources, between 1,400 and nearly 1,500 flights were canceled at Shanghai's two main airports, with another 270 in nearby Hangzhou. Hundreds of ferry services in Zhejiang and Fujian were suspended, and according to Chinese state television CCTV, some railway lines were also halted.
Chinese officials have not yet officially reported any fatalities, but state media reported the disappearance of a nine-year-old boy from Wenling, who was swept into the sea by a flash flood.
In parallel with the storm, authorities also battled a wave of fake news. Two people were arrested by police for spreading false information. One of them, a 60-year-old man, used artificial intelligence to create a fake video claiming that someone in Shanghai had fallen from a building during the storm. The other, a 32-year-old man, altered existing footage of the storm in a misleading way.
Before reaching China, the typhoon passed over Japan's southern islands. On Okinawa, seven people were injured, and more than 5,000 households lost power. The storm also brought heavy rain to Taiwan, where over 180 flights were canceled.
Paradoxically, hundreds of kilometers to the south, the typhoon caused record heat. In Hong Kong, a temperature of 36.9°C was recorded on Sunday, the highest since records began in 1884, caused by hot air pushed toward the city by the storm.
Although the highest red alert has been downgraded to a tropical storm warning, the danger is not over. The typhoon is moving inland, and authorities warn of heavy rain, flooding, and landslides lasting until Wednesday. Due to the extreme weather, major tourist attractions have been closed, including parts of Disneyland and Legoland, as well as observation decks on the famous Bund promenade in Shanghai.
