Typhoon White Dolphin, the 13th typhoon of 2026, made landfall near Yuhuan City, Taizhou, Zhejiang province, at 17:30 local time on August 9 with maximum sustained winds of 14级 (38-45 m/s) and minimum central pressure around 945 hPa [1, 2]. It brought strong winds and heavy rain to the eastern coast, then made a second landfall near Wenzhou or the Fukding area in Fujian province later that evening, affecting Zhejiang, Fujian, Shanghai, and Jiangxi provinces [3, 4, 5, 6, 7].
More than 1 million people were evacuated across Zhejiang, Fujian, and Shanghai prior to landfall to reduce risks. Reports vary on Zhejiang evacuations, with figures between about 80,000 and 390,000 in the Taizhou area [6, 2]. Fujian evacuated around 98,900 people and Shanghai over 30,000 [5, 6, 2]. Zhejiang Governor Liu Jie emphasized, "Personnel transfer is the top priority to ensure that no household or person is missed" [8].
The typhoon forced cancellation of at least 1,600 flights at Shanghai and Hangzhou airports and disrupted rail transport with temporary suspensions on multiple train routes in the region [6, 1, 2]. Major tourist destinations, including Shanghai Disney and Lego parks, closed along with ferry service suspensions [5, 2].
Heavy rain affected a wide area from August 9 to 12, including Zhejiang, Shanghai, Fujian, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hubei, Henan, and Shandong provinces. Some Zhejiang areas received 250 to over 500 millimeters of rain, causing flooding and risk of secondary disasters such as landslides [9, 6, 7, 2, 10]. The Shanghai Meteorological Observatory warned of potential urban flooding and transportation congestion due to 220 millimeters or more rainfall in six hours [7]. Chinese Central Meteorological Observatory chief Wang Haiping called for "high vigilance" due to the storm's heavy rain, broad impact, and long duration [6].
Typhoon White Dolphin weakened to a tropical storm after landfall, moving northwest while still bringing heavy rainfall and flood risks across eastern China [4, 2, 10]. Atmospheric meteorologist James Caron said agricultural impact will depend on the storm’s residual circulation and rainbands, noting that "even minor shifts in the path can greatly affect where the heaviest rain falls" during the August harvest season for corn and barley [10].
Before reaching China, White Dolphin passed southern Okinawa, Japan, causing six injuries and power outages affecting over 50,000 buildings [9, 2, 11]. The Philippines also suffered additional flooding and eight deaths linked to White Dolphin and preceding storms, displacing over 7,000 people [2].
Chinese authorities issued the highest-level red typhoon alerts in coastal provinces. Leaders coordinated emergency responses and detained individuals spreading false or manipulated typhoon information on social media [4, 8, 7, 2, 12].
Heavy rains and flood risks are expected to continue in eastern China through midweek, according to meteorologist Matthew Dross [9]. Emergency efforts remain active as authorities monitor ongoing rainfall and secondary hazards through August 12 [6, 7, 10].
