China braces for Typhoon Dolphin

The China Meteorological Administration upgraded its emergency response for major meteorological disasters from Level IV to Level III on Saturday, expanding the scope from typhoons to include rainstorms and severe convective weather.

According to the National Meteorological Center, Typhoon Dolphin, the 13th named storm of the year, is forecast to make landfall along the coast between Zhoushan in Zhejiang province and Fuding in Fujian province from Sunday night to Monday morning.

The NMC forecast that from Saturday to Wednesday, heavy to torrential rains will hit Taiwan Island, central and northern Fujian, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangxi province, Jiangsu province, southern and central Anhui province, eastern Hubei province and eastern Hunan province.

Some areas, including central and eastern Zhejiang, northeastern Fujian, southern Anhui and the Dabie Mountains region, could experience extreme torrential rain, according to the forecast.

Strong winds of magnitude 9 to 11, with gusts reaching force 12 to 13, are expected across most of the East China Sea, Hangzhou Bay, the coastal areas of Zhejiang, northern Fujian and the waters around Taiwan.

The NMC also warned of scattered heavy to torrential rains in parts of Hainan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Chongqing, Hebei, Henan and Sichuan, with some areas potentially experiencing extreme rainfall.

The center issued an orange typhoon warning and maintained a blue warning for severe convective weather at 6 am on Saturday.