Typhoon Dolphin, the strongest typhoon to hit China this year, brought severe flooding to Beijing on Aug. 12 after shattering rainfall records across central and eastern provinces, with remnants of the storm colliding with cooler air masses over the capital and its surrounding mountains.
Beijing declared its second-highest rainstorm warning as the storm’s moisture, pushed upward by the Taihang and Yan mountain ranges, dumped rainfall at rates approaching four inches per hour in some areas. The city shut 150 tourist attractions, suspended 250 bus routes and ran 10 subway lines at reduced speed. Roads flooded and vehicles were stranded across key areas of the capital.
The average rainfall across Beijing from Aug. 11 through Aug. 12 was 1.34 inches, according to the official Xinhua news agency, but the maximum total in the hardest-hit area reached 8.11 inches in Miyun district.
How the storm developed
Typhoon Dolphin made landfall in Zhejiang Province on Aug. 9 before moving inland. Its official tracking designation was discontinued on Aug. 11 after the storm weakened, but the system’s leftover tropical moisture remained highly dangerous. When it collided with cooler continental air masses and was channeled upward by the mountain terrain surrounding Beijing, the results were severe.
State media reported that rainfall records were broken in parts of Zhejiang and the central provinces of Henan and Hubei. The city of Wugang, home to one of China’s largest steel companies, received approximately 8.2 inches of rain in a single day in August, breaking records for that month. Xiangyang received 6.6 inches.
China’s Ministry of Emergency Management warned Wednesday that the combined effects of the storm remnants and cold air could push severe rainfall farther north, continuing to affect parts of central and northern China. Henan was identified as a particular area of concern because its terrain amplifies rainfall intensity.
Beijing’s vulnerability to this type of flooding
Beijing’s flooding risk from this kind of event is well documented. The city sits at the edge of the North China Plain, with mountain ranges to its north and west that can force moisture-laden air upward rapidly, intensifying precipitation. When remnant tropical systems travel north and interact with these geographic features, rainfall can concentrate quickly and far exceed what the city’s drainage infrastructure was designed to handle.
A major flooding disaster struck Beijing in the summer of 2023, when extreme rainfall caused significant loss of life and property damage in areas that had not seen such flooding in decades. The events of Aug. 12 occurred in the same general risk environment, though the scale and human toll of this event were not yet fully reported at the time of this article.
The broader storm picture
Typhoon Dolphin’s path across eastern China affected multiple provinces over several days, with the rainfall records in Zhejiang, Henan and Hubei representing the storm’s impact at landfall and during its inland movement. The Beijing flooding represents the northern edge of that impact area.
Typhoon season in the Western Pacific typically runs from May through November, with the most active period in August and September. The Ministry of Emergency Management’s advance warning about northern China being at continued risk suggests that authorities anticipated that this event would not end quickly after the storm’s official tracking was discontinued. Remnant moisture from tropical systems can sustain heavy rainfall for days after the storm itself dissipates, and the terrain interaction around Beijing made that northern extension of the rain predictable.
Authorities have not yet released full casualty or damage figures for the broader storm event.
