The powerful Typhoon Dolphin moved further inland into Hubei, China, on Tuesday, leading to the closure of tourist attractions and halting construction activities. There is a significant threat of intense rainfall in the mountainous northwest of the province.
This typhoon, the most severe in China this year, traveled over 3,700 miles before it struck the eastern coast over the weekend. It brought extensive cloud cover with it, leading to widespread rain.
Hubei is a significant center for auto and high-tech electronics manufacturing and houses over 58 million residents. Recently, the region experienced two unusual tornadoes, following Typhoon Maysak, which resulted in at least 11 deaths.
Images surfaced of people on the Bund, enduring heavy rainfall a day after Typhoon Dolphin hit Shanghai.
On Tuesday, the National Meteorological Center reissued an orange alert for heavy rain, indicating a serious threat. Northwestern Hubei could receive up to 9.8 inches of rain within a day.
Authorities in Hubei have issued a yellow alert in cities such as Xiangyang, Huanggang, and Suizhou. These areas face heightened risks of flooding and landslides.
Wang Xiaoling, deputy director of Hubei’s provincial meteorological observatory, remarked that as Dolphin’s peripheral airflow rises against the mountains in western Hubei, the rainfall will significantly increase.
Several scenic sites in the province, including the renowned Three Gorges Dam tourist spot in Yichang, have temporarily closed. Of 107 major highway and waterway construction projects in progress, 26 high-risk projects are paused.
Meanwhile, neighboring Henan province has issued a red flash-flood alert as the storm continues to move moisture northward.
The impact of Typhoon Dolphin extends to Beijing, 600 miles beyond Hubei. Four districts in the city’s outskirts have initiated Level I emergency flood responses in anticipation of heavy rainfall accounting for over a third of the city’s annual amount, expected over 24 hours starting late Tuesday.
The storm is also influencing Japan. The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of landslides, floods, and strong winds as Typhoon No. 15, Chan-hom, might reach Japan’s mainland later on Tuesday.