China Remains on Alert for Heavy Rains as Typhoon Dolphin Weakens

China's National Meteorological Center maintained a yellow alert for heavy rainfall Tuesday, even as Typhoon Dolphin weakened significantly after making landfall. The storm, downgraded to a tropical storm, was located in Anqing city in eastern China with maximum winds of 20 meters per second. Forecasters anticipate Dolphin will continue moving northwest, gradually losing strength.

Despite the typhoon's weakening, authorities are bracing for substantial precipitation across wide swathes of the country. Heavy to torrential rains are expected from Tuesday through Wednesday in eastern, central, and northern China. Provinces like Henan in the central region could see between 250 to 300 millimeters of rain in some areas. The meteorological center also warned of potential stormy winds, hail, and even isolated tornadoes.

In eastern China, air travel began to show signs of recovery, though flight cancellations persisted. Shanghai Pudong International Airport reported 71% operational capacity with 94 flights canceled by mid-morning. Other airports in Nanjing, Wenzhou, Ningbo, and Hangzhou saw more normal operations, contrasting with significant disruptions on Monday.

Insurance companies in eastern China have activated damage claim procedures. By Monday afternoon in Shanghai alone, insurers had received 5,271 reports, estimating losses at 94.83 million yuan (approximately $13.2 million USD). Typhoon Dolphin made landfall on Sunday in Zhejiang province, bringing record rainfall to Shanghai, where one central station recorded 312.9 millimeters in 24 hours, the highest in over 150 years. This summer has seen intense weather patterns across China, including typhoons, heavy rains, floods, and landslides, resulting in numerous fatalities and hundreds of thousands of evacuations.