China is under a wide state of alert with the approaching Typhoon “Dolphin,” which prompted the authorities to cancel more than 1,300 flights and evacuate hundreds of thousands of residents, after the outer reaches of the storm struck northern Taiwan and caused heavy rains in the capital, Taipei, and other areas.
Some Taiwanese airlines canceled their flights to China, at a time when the maximum wind speed accompanying the typhoon was estimated at 162 kilometers per hour on Sunday morning.
The typhoon is expected to hit Zhejiang Province and northern parts of Fujian Province in the coming hours, amid warnings of flash floods and widespread landslides.
The Chinese meteorological authorities expected that some areas would witness rainfall ranging from 200 to 400 millimeters in the coming days, warning of a high level of risk in a number of areas.
In Shanghai, Hongqiao and Pudong airports canceled about 60 percent of scheduled flights, while the total number of canceled flights in the city reached more than 1,300.
As part of precautionary measures, the authorities evacuated about 390,000 people from the city of Taizhou in Zhejiang Province, while more than 30,000 people were transferred from the most vulnerable areas in Shanghai.
The authorities also announced the suspension of all water activities, including ferry services and cruises, in anticipation of worsening weather conditions as the hurricane approaches.
