Typhoon Dolphin Brings Record Rainfall to China

The remnants of Typhoon Dolphin drenched northern and central China on Wednesday, flooding roads in Beijing, disrupting public transport and setting rainfall records hundreds of miles inland.

Beijing issued its second-highest rainstorm alert after torrential downpours inundated major roads and left cars and buses partially submerged. Authorities suspended 250 bus routes, closed 150 tourist attractions and imposed speed restrictions on parts of the subway network. In Changping district, 90.7 millimeters of rain fell in just one hour.

Although Dolphin weakened after making landfall in Zhejiang Province on Sunday, the storm carried vast amounts of tropical moisture nearly 6,000 km across China, fueling extreme rainfall far from the coast.

Single-day August rainfall records were broken in several cities. Wugang, in Henan Province, received 209.5 millimeters of rain in 24 hours, while Xiangyang, in Hubei Province, recorded 169.1 millimeters.

Forecasters warned that the remnants of the storm would continue to bring heavy rain to northern and central China in the coming days, raising the risk of flooding and landslides. Extreme rainfall already causes billions of dollars in damage across the country each year, disrupting industry, damaging infrastructure, and destroying crops.

(Reuters, bak)