Tropical storm causes some flooding in eastern China

Tropical Storm Dolphin has dumped heavy rain in eastern China, causing flooding after making landfall as a typhoon

BEIJING -- Tropical Storm Dolphin dumped heavy rain in eastern China on Monday, causing flooding in places after making landfall as a typhoon the previous day.

Authorities have warned of risks of severe flooding and landslides in some areas.

Dolphin had maximum sustained winds of 65 kph (40 mph) in the morning and was continuing to weaken, Taiwan's Central Weather Administration said.

The China Meteorological Administration said Dolphin was moving northwest at 15 to 20 kilometers per hour (9 to 12 mph) and was expected to continue weakening until it dissipates.

Dolphin made landfall Sunday evening in Taizhou in Zhejiang province with winds of 151 kph (93 mph), after bringing heavy rain to northern Taiwan over the weekend.

State broadcaster CCTV reported that authorities in Yueqing, a city in Zhejiang province, searched for people trapped in flooded homes and began clearing broken branches from streets.

Before the typhoon hit, more than 300,000 people were preemptively relocated and Shanghai’s two airports canceled more than 1,300 flights.

Dolphin did not directly hit the Philippines, but it helped intensify seasonal monsoon rains that set off flooding and landslides on the main northern island region of Luzon.

A landslide buried three houses Sunday night in the northern mountain resort city of Baguio, killing five people with at least five others still missing, officials said. A frantic search for the missing was continuing Monday despite intermittent rains.

Three people were dug out alive by rescuers and brought to a hospital, Baguio officials said.

The deaths from the mudslide raised the death toll in nearly a week of torrential rains, floods and a tropical storm last week in the northern Luzon region to 15, the government’s Office of Civil Defense said.

More than a million people were affected by the heavy monsoon rains and floods, including about 98,000 who were displaced from their homes. About 58,000 of the displaced evacuated to some 642 government-run emergency shelters, Laurence Mina of the government’s Office of Civil Defense said.

Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Chan-hom was heading toward Japan’s Pacific coast. The storm had 83 kph (51 mph) winds Monday morning and was forecast to strengthen slightly before landfall Tuesday into Wednesday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

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