China's strongest typhoon of the year has already forced the cancellation of nearly a thousand flights and the evacuation of over a million residents, with forecasters warning that the worst may not be over. Tropical Storm Dolphin, which made landfall as a typhoon on Sunday night, continues to dump torrential rain across eastern provinces as it pushes inland. Main Developments Dolphin struck Yuhuan in Zhejiang province late Sunday with maximum sustained winds of 151 kilometres per hour (94mph), triggering China's highest weather alert. The National Meteorological Center activated a red alert before landfall, the most severe level in the country's typhoon warning system. By Monday, the system had weakened into a tropical storm as it moved inland and lost energy, yet continued to soak the eastern provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu and Shandong. Forecasters predict torrential rain through August 10 across Zhejiang, Shanghai, northern Fujian, northeastern Jiangxi, central and southern Anhui, and much of Jiangsu. Read also: Why Rybakina vs Osaka could define the Canadian Open Parts of central and eastern Zhejiang could receive between 250 and 500mm (9.8–19.7 inches) of rain, according to forecasters. Shanghai's two airports cancelled a combined 943 flights, reducing capacity by nearly 40 percent, state broadcaster CCTV reported, with authorities urging residents to work from home. Background The storm's arrival marks the most powerful typhoon to hit China this year, prompting one of the largest evacuation efforts in recent memory. More than 900,000 residents were relocated in Wenzhou city alone, while nearly 100,000 were evacuated in Shanghai and another 99,000 in neighbouring Fujian province, according to state media. Emergency crews in Wenling, a Zhejiang city, are searching for a nine-year-old boy who was swept into the sea during the storm, local media reported. The scale of the response reflects lessons learned from previous typhoon seasons that have caused devastating flooding and landslides in the region. Why It Matters The storm's slow inland progression poses a continuing threat to densely populated areas unaccustomed to such extreme weather. Dolphin is forecast to move deeper into the central provinces of Hubei and Henan in the coming days while also pushing moisture northward, extending the danger zone well beyond the coast. Authorities in Beijing have raised warnings for torrential rain and said the city is prepared to activate its flood control response on Tuesday morning. The capital is expected to experience significant rainfall from Tuesday until Thursday, with officials warning of flash floods in the city and landslides in surrounding mountainous areas. What's Next Beijing's flood control systems face their first major test as the storm system approaches, with officials preparing to activate emergency protocols. The coming days will determine whether the weakened storm continues to weaken or stalls over central China, potentially prolonging the flood risk. Rescue and recovery operations remain underway in the hardest-hit coastal areas, particularly the search for the missing child in Wenling. Weather forecasters will be monitoring rainfall totals closely as the storm's remnants move toward Hubei and Henan, provinces still recovering from previous flood events.