When Typhoon Dolphin slammed into eastern China, the scale of the response revealed how seriously authorities take the region's vulnerability. The storm, carrying winds of up to 150 km/h, forced more than one million residents from their homes as it made landfall. Shanghai, the country's financial hub, bore the brunt of the system's fury. The city's normally bustling transport networks ground to a halt, with flights suspended and road and rail services disrupted by the extreme weather. Main Developments Evacuation orders swept across the affected provinces as the typhoon approached, moving over a million people out of harm's way. The mass relocation underscores the destructive potential of a system packing such powerful sustained winds. Read also: Malawi, Cameroon Shake Up WAFCON; Nigeria Eliminated Beyond the wind, the storm delivered torrential rainfall that triggered widespread flooding. Local authorities remain on alert for landslides, a secondary threat that often proves deadlier than the initial impact in mountainous terrain. Background Eastern China is no stranger to tropical cyclones, but each season brings fresh challenges as urban centres expand and climate patterns shift. Shanghai, in particular, has invested heavily in flood defences after past storms exposed gaps in its infrastructure. Why It Matters The evacuation of a million people is a logistical feat that carries enormous economic and social costs. For a region that drives much of China's manufacturing and trade, even a temporary shutdown sends ripples through global supply chains. What's Next With the storm now moving through the region, the focus shifts to recovery and assessing the damage. Questions remain about how quickly transport links can be restored and whether the flood and landslide risks will recede as the system weakens inland.