OVER one million people have been forced to evacuate their homes in eastern China as Typhoon Dolphin continues to wreak destruction across the country.  

The typhoon, the strongest storm to hit China this year, brought heavy rain and caused massive disruption across the region. Nearly 1,000 flights were cancelled in Shanghai alone today.

The storm packed maximum wind speeds of 94mph when it first slammed into Yuhuan in Zhejiang province on Sunday before making a second landfall in the city of Wenzhou.

The forecast was for heavy rain today in the provinces of Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and the city of Shanghai.

Parts of Zhejiang could receive up to a foot and a half of rain over the next few days, forecasters say.

Authorities have urged people to avoid all outdoor activities.

Wenzhou authorities have relocated some 900,000 residents and opened more than 1,000 emergency shelters, while about 390,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in the city of Taizhou.

In the coastal province of Fujian, maritime authorities have suspended dozens of passenger ferry routes and halted more than 100 offshore construction projects.