Coastal areas of eastern China were preparing for strong winds and torrential rain as Typhoon Dolphin approached, prompting authorities to recall fishing boats, suspend ferry services and prepare for evacuations.

China's meteorological authority on Saturday upgraded its emergency response for Dolphin to Level III and raised the typhoon warning from yellow to orange.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) maintained the orange typhoon alert at 6 a.m. on Sunday.

The typhoon was located over the southern part of the East China Sea at 5 a.m. Sunday, about 305 kilometers east of Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province, with maximum sustained winds of 45 meters per second near its center, according to the NMC.

Moving northwest at 15 to 20 kilometers per hour, Dolphin was expected to make landfall along the coast between Zhoushan in Zhejiang Province and Fuding in Fujian Province from Sunday night to Monday morning.

Zhejiang raised its typhoon emergency response to Level I, the highest level, on Saturday night, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

Authorities were urged to closely monitor the typhoon and implement all planned prevention measures. Where necessary, authorities may declare an emergency flood control period and take measures such as suspending outdoor group activities, work, classes, business operations and transport services and closing roads.

Although Dolphin has yet to make landfall, it has already brought heavy rains and strong winds to parts of Zhejiang, including Ningbo, Taizhou, Wenzhou and Lishui, said Jia Yan, chief forecaster at the Zhejiang Meteorological Observatory.

The Ministry of Water Resources and the China Meteorological Administration on Saturday evening jointly issued a red alert for flash floods in 23 contiguous counties, cities and districts in Zhejiang. The ministry also upgraded the province's flooding emergency response from Level IV to Level III.

More than 4,000 local monitors have been deployed to inspect over 7,500 areas vulnerable to landslides and other geological disasters.

By Friday morning, the province had suspended all 162 passenger ferry routes, halted work at all 193 offshore projects and recalled 474 construction vessels to port.

In Fujian Province, 98,900 people had been relocated to safety from risky areas as of 6 p.m. Saturday. Authorities had suspended 55 passenger ferry routes and halted work at 115 offshore construction sites. All 1,210 registered fishing boats in the coastal city of Fuding had returned to port.

Shanghai issued a blue typhoon alert on Friday, warning that the storm could bring strong winds and heavy rain to the city for up to four days. Some train services in the Yangtze River Delta will be suspended from Sunday.

Authorities in Shanghai have also evacuated 30,300 residents from risky areas, with more relocations expected Sunday. As of Saturday afternoon, over 20 scenic sites had been temporarily closed.

The typhoon is expected to disrupt air traffic and lead to the cancellation of 1,384 inbound and outbound flights, nearly 60% of all flights at Shanghai's two airports on Sunday, Shanghai Airport (Group) Co., Ltd. said on Saturday night.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport planned to cancel 871 flights and 513 flights, respectively.

Compared with Typhoon Bavi, which made landfall in the country in July, Dolphin may bring stronger winds and heavier rainfall, said Xu Yinglong, chief forecaster at the NMC.

China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system for typhoons, with red as the most severe, followed by orange, yellow and blue. Its emergency response system also has four levels, with Level I being the highest.

(With input from Xinhua)