HANGZHOU — Zhejiang province halted all port production and operations on Saturday as Typhoon Dolphin approached China’s eastern coast, with authorities warning of heavy rain and strong winds and preparing for a possible landfall between Zhejiang and neighboring Fujian province.
The Zhejiang Maritime Safety Administration activated its highest-level coastal typhoon response at 8 a.m. local time, while the provincial flood and typhoon control authority raised its emergency response to level II, according to China News Service.
By 8 a.m., port operations across Zhejiang had been suspended, while all 162 passenger ferry routes and 316 passenger vessels in the province had stopped operating, China News Service reported. Authorities also halted 193 water-related construction projects and moved 474 construction vessels into sheltered waters.
Typhoon Dolphin, known in China as Typhoon Baihaodun, was classified as a severe typhoon. At 9 a.m. on Saturday, its center was about 520 km (323 miles) east of Wenzhou in Zhejiang, with maximum sustained winds of 45 meters per second, according to China's National Meteorological Center.
The storm was forecast to move westward at about 10 to 15 kph, with landfall expected between Sunday night and Monday morning somewhere along the coast from Zhoushan in Zhejiang to Fuding in Fujian. Forecasters said the system could maintain or slightly increase its strength before reaching the coast.
Reuters reported that China had designated Dolphin an orange-category typhoon, the country's second-highest warning level, and raised its emergency response level to III. Ningbo Lishe International Airport in Zhejiang was scheduled to halt operations from 11:30 p.m. Saturday and suspend all flights on Sunday.
The storm was also expected to bring prolonged rainfall to eastern China through Aug. 12. Some areas of eastern Zhejiang could receive more than 600 mm (23.6 inches) of rain, according to forecasters. Zhejiang authorities warned that parts of the province could face severe flooding and landslides.
The Zhejiang hydrological authorities said several river basins could experience flooding above warning or protection levels between Aug. 10 and 11. Some reservoirs had already released water in advance to create additional storage capacity, China News Service reported.
As of Saturday, port and ferry restrictions remained in effect while authorities continued preparations for the storm's expected arrival along China's east coast.
