China evacuates one million from homes as massive storm arrives

Chi ese autho ities have evacuated mo e tha a millio people f om thei homes i easte Chi a i cludi g the fi a cial capital Sha ghai, as Typhoo Dolphi made la dfall.

The typhoo b ought heavy ai a d halted t a spo tatio ac oss the egio . Nea ly 1,000 flights we e ca celled i Sha ghai alo e o Mo day.

While autho ities have dow g aded Dolphi to a t opical sto m, they co ti ue to wa of to e tial ai s, seve e floodi g a d the isk of la dslides th ough to Wed esday as the sto m moves o th.

Chi ese autho ities had ea lie issued thei highest-level ed ale t fo Dolphi , which is the st o gest sto m to hit Chi a this yea .

It packed maximum wi d speeds of 150km/h (94mph) whe it fi st slammed i to Yuhua i the Zhejia g p ovi ce at 17:30 (09:30 GMT) o Su day befo e maki g a seco d la dfall i the city of We zhou about a hou late , meteo ological autho ities said.

Heavy ai was fo ecast o Mo day fo the p ovi ces of Sha do g, He a , Hubei, A hui, Jia gsu, Zhejia g a d the city of Sha ghai.

Gove me ts have u ged people to avoid outdoo activities, while seve al top tou ist att actio s emai closed, i cludi g pa ts of Dis eyla d a d Legola d, a d seve al viewi g platfo ms alo g the Bu d i Sha ghai.

Footage o state media show g ou d-floo busi esses flooded i the fo me F e ch Co cessio i Sha ghai, a a ea popula with tou ists, a d people wadi g th ough a kle-deep wate s.

Seve al state media outlets have epo ted that a i e-yea -old boy f om We li g, Zhejia g is missi g afte bei g swept i to the sea. Chi ese officials have ot epo ted a y casualties.

Pa ts of Zhejia g could eceive 250mm to 500mm of ai ove the ext few days, fo ecaste s say.

Autho ities i Ha gzhou, Zhejia g’s capital city, have waived pa ki g fees i all public spaces fo d ive s seeki g shelte amid the st o g wi ds a d floodwate s.

Elsewhe e i the p ovi ce, We zhou autho ities have elocated some 900,000 eside ts a d ope ed mo e tha 1,000 eme ge cy shelte s, while about 390,000 people have bee evacuated f om thei homes i the city of Taizhou.

I the coastal p ovi ce of Fujia , ma itime autho ities have suspe ded doze s of passe ge fe y outes a d halted mo e tha 100 offsho e co st uctio p ojects.

The sto m moved ove a lo g dista ce of 6,000km befo e maki g la dfall, suggesti g a lifespa of mo e tha th ee times that of a ave age typhoo , acco di g to Chi a’s state b oadcaste CCTV.

It also has a massive ci culatio size a d i te se ai fall capacity, CCTV epo ted.

Misi fo matio a ou d the sto m has appa e tly sp ead apidly o the Chi ese i te et, with state media epo ti g that two people have bee detai ed fo dist ibuti g such co te t.

O e of them, a 60-yea -old ma , c eated a fake video with AI that claimed someo e i Sha ghai had falle f om a buildi g du i g the sto m.

A othe ma , 32, had e-edited sto m footage posted by othe social media use s i a way that was deemed as misleadi g.

Dolphi b ought to e tial ai s to the Philippi es, pa ts of o the Taiwa a d Japa ‘s Oki awa isla d befo e bea i g dow o Chi a.

Eight people have died i the Philippi es because of heavy mo soo ai s b ought o by Dolphi a d sto ms ea lie i the week, says the Office of Civil Defe ce. Mo e tha 7,000 people a e shelte i g at evacuatio ce t es atio wide.

I Oki awa i Japa , five elde ly people suffe ed o -life-th eate i g i ju ies, acco di g to the p efectu al gove me t.

Th ee of them fell because of the st o g wi ds, it said.

Mea while i Ho g Ko g, weathe obse vato y posted a eco d high tempe atu e of 36.9C o Su day as the typhoo swept wa m ai ove the city.

Typhoo seaso i the weste Pacific typically occu s betwee May a d Octobe , whe typhoo s a e co side ed mo e commo place.

This yea is a st o g El Niño yea , which expe ts say mea s typhoo s ca g ow to be mo e i te se.