East China provinces raise alert as Typhoon Dolphin approaches

HANGZHOU/FUZHOU -- Authorities in East China's Zhejiang and Fujian provinces elevated their emergency responses for Typhoon Dolphin from Level IV to Level III on Friday, as the 13th typhoon of 2026 approaches the country's eastern coast.

As of 2:00 pm Friday, the center of Typhoon Dolphin was located approximately 740 km east of Wenzhou city in Zhejiang, packing maximum sustained winds of Force 15 near its center.

The typhoon is expected to move westward at a speed of about 15 km per hour and is likely to make landfall along the coast in an area between Ningbo in Zhejiang and Ningde in Fujian on Sunday night or Monday morning, according to the Fujian provincial meteorological observatory.

The Fujian provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters has also raised the typhoon prevention emergency response to Level III.

The headquarters urged all local authorities to closely monitor the movement of Typhoon Dolphin and its associated impacts of wind, rain and waves. It called for timely adjustments to response measures, thorough deployment of preventive actions, resolute and swift organization of evacuation and relocation, and solid preparations to cope with the impending disaster.

As of noon on Friday, all 115 offshore construction projects in Fujian had been suspended, and 290 construction vessels had been moved to safe waters for shelter. In addition, 19 passenger ferry routes in the area north of Quanzhou in Fujian had ceased operations.

Lou Xiaofen, chief forecaster at the Zhejiang Meteorological Observatory, said there is a high chance of the typhoon making direct landfall in Zhejiang, which is located between the city of Shanghai and Fujian province, thus creating substantial disaster risks across this region.

By 8 am Friday, Zhejiang had suspended services on all 162 of its passenger ferry routes, halted work at all 193 offshore projects, and called 474 construction vessels to port.

The provincial maritime authorities had issued 86,000 early warning messages and inspected 24,000 vessels. High-powered tugboats, notably, are on standby for emergency rescue operations.

Under Level III typhoon response plans, local authorities are required to closely monitor the typhoon's development, issue early warnings and forecasts, evacuate people to safety, and provide public guidance to effectively protect people's lives and property.