One million evacuated as Typhoon Dolphin pummels east China: What we know

China evacuates a million from homes as Typhoon Dolphin arrives

Provinces in eastern China have been inundated with heavy rain and flooding caused by Typhoon Dolphin, the strongest storm to make landfall in China this year.

Dolphin struck eastern China, including Shanghai, with winds up to 150 kilometres per hour (93 miles per hour), forcing more than one million people to evacuate their homes. The storm has disrupted flights and other transport while bringing heavy rain, flooding and the risk of landslides across the region.

About 40 percent of flights in Shanghai were grounded on Monday due to the weather.

After Dolphin made landfall late on Sunday, it weakened to below cyclone strength and is forecast to weaken further as it moves inland.

The typhoon made landfall in Yuhuan in China’s Zhejiang province about 5:30pm (09:30 GMT) on Sunday, according to China’s meteorological authorities.

On Monday, Shanghai was badly hit with residents circulating the hashtag “Shanghai turns into the sea” on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.

Last month, Typhoon Bavi also made landfall in Zhejiang, causing the evacuation of 1.7 million people.