Beijing drenched by rain as China braces for Typhoon Dolphin

Beijing was hit by heavy rain as China braced for Typhoon Dolphin, with the Beijing Meteorological Bureau saying the capital had already recorded 744.8 millimeters, or 29.3 inches, of rain between Saturday and Wednesday morning. The deluge left the city facing more than a passing storm: saturated ground, strained drainage and the risk of transport and emergency-service disruptions in one of the world’s largest capitals.

China’s National Meteorological Center renewed a blue typhoon alert on Aug. 6 as Dolphin moved toward the country’s eastern coastal regions. Zhejiang and Fujian provinces activated Level-IV typhoon emergency responses that afternoon, then Zhejiang raised its response from Level IV to Level III at noon on Friday as conditions worsened. At 8 a.m. on Aug. 7, the Zhejiang Meteorological Observatory said Typhoon Dolphin was about 763 kilometers east of Wenling, Zhejiang, placing the system offshore but close enough to trigger wide regional preparations.

The Ministry of Water Resources also activated a Level-IV emergency flood response for six provincial regions as the storm neared. Xinhua described Dolphin as the 13th typhoon of 2026, a reminder that the summer storm season has already pushed officials into repeated rounds of warning, coordination and pre-positioning. In a city the size of Beijing, that kind of rainfall can quickly ripple through commuter systems, low-lying neighborhoods and roads, especially when it lands on already saturated terrain.

The same storm system forced authorities in Japan to move as well, with Japanese officials ordering evacuations and canceling about 500 flights as Dolphin approached. Across East Asia, the response showed how a single typhoon can disrupt air travel, local transit and public safety planning far beyond the shoreline it first threatens.

For China, the episode carried an added warning. Beijing’s latest soaking came after Reuters reported on July 28, 2025, that the capital’s extreme rain trap killed at least 30 people and displaced thousands. That earlier disaster still hangs over every new flood alert, and this week’s response showed how quickly officials now move from weather warning to emergency posture when intense rain and a typhoon threat converge over the capital and the eastern seaboard.