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Typhoon Dolphin Approaches China’s Eastern Coast on 9 August 2026: Over 1,300 Shanghai Flights Cancelled and Mass Evacuations in Zhejiang

Typhoon Dolphin is approaching China’s densely populated eastern coastline and is forecast to make landfall between late Sunday, 9 August 2026, and early Monday, 10 August. The expected landfall zone lies between Zhoushan in Zhejiang province and Fuding in Fujian province. Forecasters have warned of intense rainfall, strong winds and a heightened risk of flooding and landslides.

In Shanghai, the city’s two main airports — Pudong and Hongqiao — cancelled a combined total of more than 1,300 flights on 9 August. State media reported that approximately 60 percent of scheduled operations at the two airports were affected, with 871 cancellations listed at Pudong and 513 at Hongqiao. Hangzhou’s airport in neighbouring Zhejiang also recorded hundreds of cancelled flights.

Authorities in Zhejiang carried out large-scale evacuations. On the evening of 8 August, officials in Taizhou relocated about 390,000 people. Broader figures for the province and adjacent areas put the total number of people moved to safer locations in the hundreds of thousands, with some reports citing more than 500,000 across the affected coastal regions. In Fujian province, nearly 99,000 residents were relocated from high-risk zones on 8 August.

Ferry services on more than 200 routes in Zhejiang and Fujian were suspended. Fishing vessels were ordered to return to port, and outdoor activities, classes and certain industrial operations were halted in several coastal cities. Railway services in parts of the Yangtze River Delta were also disrupted.

Meteorological centres upgraded the typhoon warning to higher levels as Dolphin moved northwest across the East China Sea. Rainfall totals of 200–500 mm were projected for parts of Zhejiang, with additional heavy rain expected in Shanghai and sections of Fujian, Anhui and Jiangsu. After landfall the system is expected to weaken while continuing to produce significant precipitation inland.

As of 9 August 2026 the combination of flight cancellations in Shanghai, mass evacuations in Zhejiang and Fujian, and suspended maritime and rail services reflected the scale of the preparations under way ahead of the storm’s arrival on the Chinese mainland.