BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- Heavy rain associated with Typhoon Dolphin continued to affect large parts of China on Tuesday, prompting higher flood-control responses, train suspensions and flood warnings in Beijing and neighboring Tianjin, as well as in central and eastern provinces.
Beijing activated a Level II flood-control emergency response, the second-highest level, at 9 a.m. Tuesday as authorities warned of heavy rain and heightened risks of urban flooding and landslides.
Most parts of the capital are expected to receive more than 100 millimeters of rain within six hours and over 150 millimeters within 24 hours from Tuesday evening through Thursday, according to the Beijing meteorological service.
The city has mobilized more than 23,000 emergency personnel and over 2,000 sets of machinery and vehicles. It has also opened 77 elevated roads and 182 parking facilities for emergency vehicle parking in areas vulnerable to flooding.
To ease travel during the rain, designated bus lanes will be temporarily opened to other vehicles during Tuesday evening rush hour and throughout Wednesday and Thursday. Subway capacity will be increased, while several suburban railway services have been suspended.
In Tianjin Municipality, marine authorities said a storm surge was expected along the coast from Tuesday afternoon through Sunday under the influence of Dolphin's outer circulation. High astronomical tides from Wednesday to Sunday could push water levels in some coastal sections to or above warning thresholds.
Further south, Henan Province raised its flood-control emergency response to Level III in nine cities and the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone from 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, while other areas remained at Level IV.
The provincial meteorological observatory upgraded its rainstorm alert from yellow to orange at 5 p.m. Tuesday after heavy rain had already drenched much of the province south of the Yellow River. Queshan County in Zhumadian City recorded the highest rainfall, at 286.6 millimeters over the previous 24 hours.
Forecasters warned that isolated areas in Zhengzhou, Kaifeng and Pingdingshan could receive 250 to 350 millimeters of rain from 5 p.m. Tuesday to 5 p.m. Wednesday, accompanied by short bursts of intense rainfall and localized thunderstorms and gales.
Rail traffic was disrupted in adjacent Hubei Province, where heavy-to-exceptionally heavy rain hit central and northern areas. China Railway Wuhan Group temporarily suspended multiple services on Tuesday, including trains linking Wuhan, Hankou and Wuchang with Beijing, Xi'an and other cities. Additional temporary suspensions are expected on sections of several major railways from Tuesday through Friday.
Flooding was already developing in east China's Anhui Province. The Pihe River recorded its first flood of 2026 after the water level at a station in Lu'an reached its warning level early Tuesday.
As of 6 a.m., five large reservoirs, 14 medium-sized reservoirs and 666 small reservoirs in Anhui were above their flood-control limits and were releasing water in accordance with safety procedures.
In the Taihu Lake basin, the lake's water level rose to the warning mark on Tuesday, prompting authorities to designate the event as Taihu's first numbered flood of the year.
Dolphin, the 13th typhoon of the year, made two landfalls in Zhejiang Province on Sunday. The National Meteorological Center on Tuesday maintained an orange alert for rainstorms, forecasting heavy rain across a broad swath of the country through Wednesday afternoon, including Zhejiang, Shanghai, Shandong, Beijing and Tianjin. ■
