Typhoon Dolphin swamps central China, raising flood threat in Beijing
By Liz Lee, Nicoco Chan and Go Nakamura
Typhoon Dolphin pushed deep into central China's Hubei province on Tuesday, inundating streets, shuttering scenic areas and halting construction as forecasters warned of extreme rainfall stretching from the country's interior to the outskirts of Beijing.
Dolphin, the strongest typhoon to hit China this year, carried an unusually resilient storm system that traveled nearly 6,000 km (3,728 miles) before making landfall over the weekend. After drenching the eastern seaboard, its sprawling cloud field continued to unleash heavy rain far inland, putting areas more than 1,000 km from the coast under weather alerts.
Beijing was bracing for what could be more than one-third of its average annual rainfall in a single day starting late Tuesday, and four districts on the capital's periphery activated the highest emergency flood response level. The storm's peripheral bands were expected to stall over the region, raising the risk of flash flooding in low-lying areas.
Hubei, a major auto and high-tech electronics manufacturing hub and home to more than 58 million people, was already recovering from two rare tornadoes last month spawned by Typhoon Maysak, which killed at least 11 people. The new deluge has compounded concerns for a region still absorbing the earlier damage.
In Xiangyang, where authorities issued a yellow warning for landslides and floods, streets turned into temporary waterways. Pedestrians waded through knee-deep water, and shared electric scooters sat half-submerged at curbs. At one intersection, drivers hesitated before pushing their vehicles through pools more than 30 cm deep; others abandoned the attempt and turned away.
Huang, a 60-year-old resident who had put off a morning trip to the grocery store because of the downpour, watched the waterlogged roads warily. Her apartment complex stood a few hundred meters away. "This area always gets flooded when it rains," she said. "If it continues like this, the water will reach my home."
On a nearby depressed highway, rainwater poured off elevated motor-bike lanes, and workers in fluorescent vests tore up parts of the concrete to speed drainage. Another flood-prone stretch had a drainage truck stationed as a precaution.
WIDESPREAD TORRENTIAL RAIN
The National Meteorological Center renewed an orange alert for heavy rain on Tuesday, the second-highest warning level, with parts of Hubei expected to receive up to 250 mm in a single day. Local authorities issued yellow warnings for Huanggang, Suizhou and other cities, and by Tuesday morning 35 reservoirs in Xiangyang had exceeded flood-control thresholds, prompting the relocation of 9,705 people.
The province shut all but two of Xiangyang's 59 major scenic areas, including the popular Three Gorges Dam tourist site in Yichang. Of the 107 major highway and waterway construction projects underway in Hubei, 26 deemed high-risk were suspended. The storm's interaction with Hubei's mountainous west was expected to intensify rainfall several-fold, according to Wang Xiaoling, deputy director of the provincial meteorological observatory, who spoke to Hubei Daily.
Neighboring Henan province issued a red flash-flood alert as the storm pushed moisture northward, with some areas forecast to see as much as 350 mm through Wednesday afternoon. The heavy rains are testing infrastructure in a region that has already seen deadly floods in recent years, and authorities have urged residents in vulnerable districts to avoid unnecessary travel.
Japan, which took a direct hit from Dolphin before the storm moved toward China, was also on high alert. The Japan Meteorological Agency said Typhoon Chan-hom, designated No. 15 this season, could cross the mainland later on Tuesday, bringing landslides, flooding and powerful winds.
The compounding effects of back-to-back storms in East Asia have renewed attention on how aging drainage systems and rapid urbanization amplify flood risks, even far from the coast. Climate scientists have noted that warmer ocean temperatures are providing more moisture and energy to tropical cyclones, often enabling them to retain strength longer over land.
(Reporting by Liz Lee, Nicoco Chan and Go Nakamura; Additional reporting by Ethan Wang and Ryan Woo in Beijing, Makiko Yamazaki in Tokyo; Editing by Kate Mayberry)