Shanghai shuts down as storm hits

Shanghai halted transportation links, recalled ships and shut tourism spots including Shanghai Disney Resort yesterday as it braced for Typhoon Bebinca, in what could be the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the Chinese financial hub since 1949.

The Category 1 typhoon, packing maximum sustained wind speeds near its centre of around 144km/h, was about 400km southeast of Shanghai. It was expected to make landfall along China’s eastern coast after midnight today.

The China Meteorological Administration issued typhoon red alert on Sunday afternoon, warning of gales and heavy rainfalls in eastern China.

The strongest storm to make landfall in Shanghai in recent decades was Typhoon Gloria in 1949, which tore through the city with gusts of 144km/h.

Shanghai was last threatened by a direct hit in 2022 by the powerful Typhoon Muifa, which instead landed 300km away in the city of Zhoushan, in Zhejiang province.

Shanghai is typically spared the strong typhoons that hit further south in China, including Yagi, a destructive Category 4 storm that roared past southern Hainan province last week.

But Shanghai and neighbouring provinces are taking no chances with Category 1 Bebinca.

In Zhejiang, ships were recalled while several parks in the provincial capital, Hangzhou, announced closures.

Cape Times