Tropical Storm Dolphin dumped heavy rain in eastern China, causing flooding in places after making landfall as a typhoon on Sunday, leading to cancellation of hundreds of flights by aviation authorities at Shanghai airports.
More than 900 flights, or about 40% of those expected, were cancelled in Shanghai’s Hongqiao and Pudong airports after about 1,300 were canceled the day before, according to Shanghai Airport Group.
Shanghai also suspended some of its metro lines on Monday, and China Railway Chengdu Group suspended 115 trains, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Authorities warned of risks of severe flooding and landslides in some areas. State broadcaster CCTV reported that authorities in Yueqing, a city in Zhejiang province, searched for people trapped in flooded homes.
According to the China Meteorological Administration, the dolphin was moving northwest at 15 to 20 kilometers per hour and was expected to continue weakening.
Dolphin made landfall Sunday evening in Taizhou in Zhejiang province with winds of 151 kph, after bringing heavy rain to northern Taiwan over the weekend.
The storm had forced at least 760,000 people to preemptively relocate, including over 390,000 people in Taizhou.
Authorities in Shanghai and Fujian Province said they evacuated more than 210,000 and 160,000 people, respectively, from riskier areas.
While authorities in Zhejiang’s capital city, Hangzhou, temporarily closed its iconic West Lake scenic spots as well as temples, parks, and museums and will reopen on Tuesday.
Storm intensified monsoon in the Philippines
Dolphin has also made an impact in the Philippines, where it has intensified seasonal monsoon rains that set off flooding and landslides on the main northern island region of Luzon.
A landslide buried three houses Sunday night in the northern mountain resort city of Baguio, killing 10 people whose bodies were dug out in two days of frantic search by rescuers. Three people were rescued with injuries and brought to a hospital, Baguio officials said.
The deaths from the mudslide raised the death toll in nearly a week of torrential rains, floods, and a tropical storm last week in the northern Luzon region to 19, the government’s Office of Civil Defense said.
More than a million people were affected by the heavy monsoon rains and floods, including about 98,000 who were displaced from homes.
Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Chan-hom began its move in the direction of Japan’s Pacific coast on Monday.
The Japan Meteorological Agency reported that the storm had winds of 83 kph on Monday morning and was expected to get a little stronger before making landfall on Tuesday or Wednesday.