Now Reading: China issues red alert as Typhoon Dolphin hits coast
-
01
China issues red alert as Typhoon Dolphin hits coast
China issued a red alert, its highest typhoon warning, as Typhoon Dolphin pounded the eastern coast on Sunday, making landfall between Sanmen in Zhejiang and Fuding in Fujian. The National Meteorological Centre…
The Story in Brief
China issued a red alert, its highest typhoon warning, as Typhoon Dolphin pounded the eastern coast on Sunday, making landfall between Sanmen in Zhejiang and Fuding in Fujian. The National Meteorological Centre said the storm packed winds of 42 metres per second, classifying it as a severe typhoon. Chief forecaster Wang Haiping warned of heavy rainfall, wide impact and long duration, with downpours expected from Sunday through Wednesday across Zhejiang, Fujian, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan and other regions. Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport cancelled 500 flights, while Shanghai's two airports scrapped over 2,230 flights on Sunday and 720 more for Monday.
Before landfall on Friday, a nine-year-old boy was swept into the sea by a wave in Shitang, Zhejiang, as he walked with his family, the South China Morning Post reported. Search operations continued on Sunday but were hampered by dangerous conditions. The remnant vortex is forecast to move northward after Wednesday, bringing heavy rain to Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Shandong and Liaoning from Thursday to Sunday. China upgraded its emergency response from Level III to Level II.
The Indian Opinion
The red alert grabs headlines, but the real test will be how prepared Zhejiang and other provinces are for the aftermath. A nine-year-old boy swept into the sea before landfall shows that even warnings cannot fully protect against nature's fury. Will the evacuation orders and flight cancellations prove sufficient to prevent a larger tragedy, or will persistent rains and floods overwhelm local defences in the coming days?
Sources (2): thehindu.com, rediff.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
