Red alert, evacuations from China's eastern coast as Typhoon Dolphin barrels down

Chinese authorities in several provinces ramped up emergency measures as Typhoon Dolphin barrels down towards the country's eastern coast, with multiple cities suspending work, transport, and ferry services, and tens of thousands of people set to evacuate, state media reported on Sunday.

China's national observatory on Sunday activated a red alert -- the highest level in the typhoon warning system-as the storm is expected to bring torrential rains through Wednesday to multiple regions, including Fujian, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, as well as Shandong, Tianjin and Beijing, state-run Xinhua News reported.

Typhoon Dolphin is forecast to make landfall along the country's east coast from Zhoushan in the Zhejiang province to Fuding in the Fujian province.

The affected areas will also face short-duration heavy rainfall and thunderstorms with gale-force winds.

As of Sunday morning, the typhoon's center was about 215 kilometers (133 miles) offshore east of Wenzhou in Zhejiang.

The National Meteorological Center forecast that Typhoon Dolphin will move westward at a speed of 20 to 25 km per hour (12.4-15.5 mph), and after landfall, it is expected to move west-northwestward and gradually weaken.

Shanghai, which is close to Zhejiang, has stepped up preparations for the typhoon, starting to relocate over 100,000 residents and setting up 378 temporary shelters ready for emergency use, according to the news outlet thepaper.cn.

Ferry services in Shanghai were also suspended.