Typhoon Dolphin Hits China, Generates Severe Warnings
Typhoon Dolphin made landfall in China on Sunday, moving inland and bringing unexpected heavy rain and flooding to central regions, leading to severe weather warnings for Beijing.
As the storm advanced, censors from the Chinese Communist Party rushed to eliminate “flood-related rumors” that were supposedly created using artificial intelligence.
This typhoon marked the strongest tropical cyclone to strike China this year, with wind and rain exceeding Category 1 hurricane levels. The heavy rain was particularly alarming as the storm hit eastern Zhejiang province and spread into central China, which is prone to flooding.
Interestingly, residents of Zhejiang initially reacted lightly to the storm, considering it somewhat ordinary for the area. A tourist stuck at Shanghai’s airport remarked that, “For us people in Guangdong, this typhoon is as normal as eating and feeling the wind. It’s just part of our daily life.”
However, by Tuesday, the situation changed dramatically as Typhoon Dolphin exhibited surprising resilience, turning into a massive storm system that unleashed intense rain across central Hubei province.
Four districts near Beijing, located more than 500 miles from the storm’s edge, prepared emergency flood responses on Tuesday, cautioning about the impending downpours. Hubei province, densely populated and industrialized, issued a “yellow warning” for landslides and flash flooding as highways struggled to handle the rising water from what was expected to be 10 inches of rain in a day.
State officials evacuated around 10,000 people Tuesday morning as reservoir levels soared past flood control limits.
Furthermore, Henan province, northeast of Hubei, also issued an emergency warning for flash flooding as the typhoon moved toward higher elevations, intensifying the rainfall. Fortunately, the typhoon began to dissipate as the heavier rains dwindled. By Tuesday afternoon, it had downgraded to a tropical storm.
Hubei was still reeling from another typhoon, Maysak, which had struck the previous month, bringing with it two rare tornadoes that resulted in at least 11 fatalities.
On Monday, China’s state-owned Global Times reported that the Ministry of Public Security had charged 15 individuals for allegedly “fabricating false information using AI to attract attention.” One case involved a 37-year-old man from Shenzhen who reportedly falsified typhoon safety notices and shared them on social media, causing public alarm and disrupting disaster response efforts.
In another incident, a man supposedly spread misinformation about school and business closures via WeChat, with some utilizing deceptive editing techniques to create fake news articles depicting life-threatening situations amid the storm.
The report stated, “These netizens have faced administrative penalties from local authorities as required by law.”
Additionally, the BBC noted last month that online pranksters in China have become adept at using AI to generate misleading and dangerous videos during disasters, especially floods. Some exaggerate genuine news stories, like fabricating scenes with crocodiles amid fleeing snakes while others depict shocking imagery, such as corpses in floodwaters.
“Many of these content creators are using disaster news to gain followers,” a Chinese online public security official said. “They understand that sensational content will attract more likes and views, so they’re purposely spreading fabricated information.”
According to the BBC, the Chinese internet exists in a “vacuum of trust” due to a pattern of state officials and media downplaying disasters, leading users to scrutinize photos and videos that might expose truths the government prefers to keep hidden.
After a significant dam collapse in early July that resulted in at least 26 deaths, the government initiated a propaganda campaign to minimize public alarm. This seemed to fuel further distrust in state narratives regarding flooding.
In response to the spread of fake news about the floods, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) launched a nationwide initiative in late July. The CAC expressed concerns that AI technology is allowing pranksters to create increasingly realistic videos, urging platform providers to take responsibility for monitoring user activity.
