Typhoon Dolphin wreaks havoc in China as Beijing faces torrential rain, floods

Typhoon Dolphin, the strongest storm to hit China this year, has weakened after making landfall but continues to cause widespread disruption across the country, with torrential rain flooding roads, disrupting transport and forcing more than a million people to evacuate their homes.

Beijing was among the areas hit by heavy rain on Wednesday as the remnants of the storm moved north, carrying large amounts of tropical moisture inland.

Several roads in the capital were flooded, leaving cars and buses partially submerged and bringing traffic to a standstill.

Authorities in Beijing issued the city’s second-highest rainstorm warning. Around 250 bus routes were suspended, 150 tourist attractions were closed and 10 subway lines were operating at reduced speeds, state-run Xinhua reported.

Record rainfall as storm moves inland

Although Dolphin has weakened from a typhoon to a tropical storm, its massive rain bands continue to threaten northern and central parts of China.

Beijing’s Changping district recorded 90.7 mm of rain in just one hour on Wednesday morning, according to local authorities. Videos circulating on Chinese social media showed water covering major roads and vehicles struggling to move through flooded stretches.

The storm had travelled around 6,000 km before making landfall in Zhejiang province on Sunday. It first struck the coastal city of Yuhuan with maximum winds of around 150 kmph before making a second landfall near Wenzhou.

Yuhuan was later hit by almost 200 mm of rain, flooding nearby streets and forcing large numbers of vehicles onto a bridge that remained above the rising water.

Rainfall records were also broken in parts of Zhejiang, Henan and Hubei. Wugang recorded 209.5 mm of rain in a single day in August, breaking its previous record, while Xiangyang received 169.1 mm.

More rain, flooding warnings ahead

The storm had already caused major disruption in eastern China, including Shanghai, where nearly 40 per cent of flights were grounded on Monday because of severe weather. Authorities also evacuated more than one million people from vulnerable areas in eastern China.

Warnings for heavy rain, flooding and landslides remained in place as Dolphin’s remnants continued moving north. Several provinces, including Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, were expected to receive further heavy rainfall.

Tourist attractions have also been affected. Authorities urged people to avoid unnecessary outdoor activities, while several popular sites in Shanghai, including parts of Disneyland and Legoland, were closed.

The extreme weather comes as China faces increasingly severe rainfall and storms. Scientists have linked the growing intensity of such weather events to climate change, while an emerging El Niño pattern has contributed to higher temperatures and conditions favourable for stronger storms.

Chinese meteorologists are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence-based weather models alongside traditional forecasting systems to improve predictions and prepare for extreme weather.

Extreme rainfall causes billions of dollars in economic losses in China each year by disrupting factories, damaging infrastructure and destroying crops.