Typhoon Dolphin hits Beijing as city braces for one-third of annual rainfall over 24 hours

Original article by Amy Hawkins and agencies

Typhoon Dolphin hit China’s capital on Tuesday as the storm caused flooding in parts of Beijing’s Shunyi district. Rains are forecast to intensify overnight.

Although the storm has been downgraded to a tropical depression, several districts in Beijing activated the highest level of emergency flood responses as the city braced for one-third of its annual rainfall, which is expected over the next 24 hours.

The ministry of water resources activated a level 4 emergency response and dispatched personnel to badly hit areas in Beijing and the neighbouring port city of Tianjin.

Chinese state media reported that Beijing ordered more than 250 flood-control teams to be on standby and to prepare flood barriers at subway stations, hospitals and elderly care facilities.

From ‌Tuesday evening through to Thursday, most areas in Beijing will experience heavy ‌downpours with a cumulative rainfall of more than 150mm in 24 hours, the city’s meteorological service has forecast. That compares with Beijing’s average annual rainfall of 528mm, the bulk of which normally falls between June and September.

Four districts on Beijing’s outskirts ​activated level 1 emergency flood responses. In ​the ​mountainous district of ​Mentougou in western Beijing, authorities issued the ​highest ‌level of flood ​emergency alert ​on Tuesday and advised people to stay indoors and avoid travelling to mountainous areas and rivers.

The strongest typhoon to hit China this year, Dolphin has proved an unusually resilient storm system, travelling nearly 6,000km (3,728 miles) ⁠before making landfall over the weekend, drenching China’s eastern coast and bringing with it a sprawling cloud field.

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More than a million people were moved to safety across eastern China over the weekend, amid fears torrential rain would cause flooding and landslides.

Wenzhou, a coastal city in Zhejiang province, said it relocated more than 900,000 people and opened more than 1,500 emergency shelters. In neighbouring Fujian, 98,900 people were moved.

In Shanghai, 215,600 people were moved from areas considered at risk by Sunday evening.

Early on Tuesday Dolphin moved over ​the central Chinese province of Hubei, ​a major auto and hi-tech electronics manufacturing ‌hub and home to more ‌than 58 million people.

On Tuesday, the national meteorological centre renewed an orange alert for heavy rain, the second-highest warning level, with north-western Hubei expected to receive up to 250mm in a 24-hour period. Hubei authorities have issued a yellow warning for cities including Xiangyang, Huanggang and Suizhou, citing a heightened risk of flooding and landslides.

Scenic areas across the province have announced temporary closures, ‌including the popular Three Gorges Dam tourist area in Yichang. Of 107 major highway and waterway construction projects under way in the province, 26 projects deemed high-risk have been suspended.

In neighbouring Henan province, authorities issued a flash-flood alert as the storm continues to ⁠channel moisture northward.

Japan is also preparing for landslides, flooding and strong winds after the Japan Meteorological Agency said Typhoon Chan-hom could move across Japan’s mainland later on Tuesday.

Reuters contributed to this report