In Shanghai, delivery workers are braving the rain to deliver food amidst waterlogged streets, while electric scooters sway dangerously. (Video Screenshot)
[People News] This year’s most powerful typhoon to strike China, 'White Dolphin' (Doksuri), made landfall around 5:30 PM on August 9 in the coastal city of Yuhuan, Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, with maximum wind speeds reaching level 14 (42 meters per second) near its center. After landfall, 'White Dolphin' continued to push inland, and its vast outer circulation and rain bands triggered extreme wind and rain across East China. This led to inland flooding in several coastal provinces and cities, transforming Shanghai into a 'shallow sea,' with over a million people evacuated from various provinces in East China.
'Train Effect' Devastates Shanghai
Although the typhoon's center made landfall in Zhejiang, its outer cloud bands continuously streamed into Shanghai, causing a severe 'Train Effect'—multiple convective cloud clusters passed through the same area like train carriages, resulting in an exceptionally prolonged period of heavy rainfall.
The Central Meteorological Bureau and meteorological experts noted that the 24-hour cumulative rainfall at the Xujiahui monitoring station in Shanghai reached 316.1 millimeters, qualifying as an extreme rainstorm and directly breaking the record for the heaviest rainfall in 154 years since records began in 1872. The total cumulative rainfall is expected to approach 500 millimeters, with some areas potentially exceeding 600 millimeters, making this typhoon the one that has brought the most rainfall to Shanghai's urban area in history.
Some merchants in Shanghai humorously remarked that their first-floor shops had turned into swimming pools. (Video screenshot)
The heavy rainfall transformed Shanghai's urban area into a 'shallow sea,' with roads flooded like rivers. Wukang Road became known as 'Wukang River,' and driving felt akin to boating. At one point, there were 181 locations in the city experiencing severe flooding. As of 5 PM on the 9th, Shanghai had urgently relocated 215,600 residents from hazardous areas. Flight tracking websites reported that around 1,500 flights had been canceled at various airports in Shanghai. In response to the rainstorm disaster, the Shanghai Human Resources and Social Security Bureau issued an emergency notice on the 10th, encouraging local businesses to implement remote work.
Wuxi Records Highest Hourly Rainfall in the Country
Due to the influence of Typhoon 'White Dolphin,' Wuxi in Jiangsu experienced record-breaking torrential rain during the morning rush hour on August 10, with an hourly rainfall of 53.3 millimeters, the highest in the country. The urban area suffered from severe waterlogging, with reports of 'cars moving through water,' leading to a temporary traffic paralysis.
Despite the adverse weather, Wuxi residents had to brave the rain to reach their workplaces, facing numerous challenges. At around 8 AM, during the peak commuting time, the intense rainfall caused water accumulation and road blockages, prompting commuters to share images and videos expressing their frustrations about the 'long commute.' In some areas, private cars struggled to move, with some drivers choosing to abandon their vehicles and walk. In the deepest spots, the water had submerged more than half of the car wheels, and opening the car doors would inevitably result in water flooding in. Meanwhile, commuters inside their vehicles were also concerned about how to navigate the walking distance after getting out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzMhUsEKuys&t=13s
According to reports from The Dajiyuan, in Liangxi District along Cultural Road and Gonghu Avenue, water has risen above the wheels, causing many vehicles to stall in the flooded streets; several private cars have stalled and become trapped under the overpass in Huishan District. The underground parking lot on Qingqi Road has been flooded with rainwater, leaving a large number of vehicles submerged; some older residential complexes have experienced basement flooding, leading to the emergency evacuation of residents.
The disaster situation in Zhejiang is equally dire.
The Zhejiang region, which is at the forefront of the disaster, is also facing severe conditions. The strong winds and heavy rain from the typhoon have resulted in widespread road flooding, with water levels reaching as high as the thighs. Numerous disaster scenes have surfaced on Chinese social media platforms (Douyin, Weibo, Xiaohongshu): multiple areas inside the Taizhou Central Hospital in Zhejiang are severely leaking, resembling a 'water curtain cave'; in Wenzhou, a river surged, sweeping away an entire movable floating dock along with the boats it housed; additionally, some citizens captured footage after the storm showing the external walls of several high-rise residential buildings being torn off like thin paper, creating a terrifying scene, with netizens commenting that it looked like the apocalypse had arrived.
According to reports from the Liberty Times, related videos have been shared on foreign social media, attracting a large number of netizens to comment, 'everywhere is shoddy construction', 'China's infrastructure is far ahead (laugh)', 'if you didn't say anything, one would think it was bombed by missiles', 'shoddy construction is a standard feature of the CCP', 'this kind of building quality would have been cleared away in Taiwan long ago', 'under the CCP's rule, cutting corners is the norm, human lives are worth less than grass', 'the great leader's 'sponge project' is indeed unparalleled in the world', 'the glamorous facade of the infrastructure madman has been torn to shreds in the wind and rain', 'don't talk nonsense about being an infrastructure powerhouse, the world's second-largest economy, it must be AI, it must be a conspiracy.'
The typhoon "White Dolphin" has led to significant inland flooding in several coastal cities, transforming streets into rivers and making driving feel like boating. (Video screenshot)
More than one million people have evacuated their homes.
As reported by Reuters and Chinese state media, the strong winds and heavy rainfall associated with "White Dolphin" have impacted a broad area, including Zhejiang, Shanghai, northern Fujian, northeastern Jiangxi, central and southern Anhui, and Jiangsu.
Evacuations and shelters: Over one million individuals have been evacuated from their homes across the East China region. In Wenzhou, Zhejiang, more than 900,000 people have been relocated, with over 1,000 shelters set up; nearly 100,000 individuals have been evacuated from high-risk areas in Fujian Province.
Transportation and maritime safety measures: In Fujian, 55 coastal passenger ferry routes have been suspended, and 115 offshore projects have been halted; more than 500 vessels have been moved to safe areas around Yangshan Port in Shanghai.
Secondary disaster warnings: The Ministry of Water Resources of China has warned that water levels in major river systems, including the Qiantang River, Yong River, and Jiao River, as well as smaller rivers, may exceed warning thresholds. Meteorological authorities have cautioned that as "White Dolphin" progresses further inland, its movement will slow, extending the duration of rainfall. This raises the risk of geological disasters such as flash floods, landslides, and mudslides in mountainous regions, prompting officials to advise the public to remain vigilant. △
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