Typhoon Bebinca lands in Shanghai, strongest storm to hit city since 1949

SHANGHAI: Typhoon Bebinca made landfall in Shanghai on Monday (Sep 16) morning as a Category 1 storm, the most powerful tropical cyclone to directly hit the Chinese financial hub in more than seven decades.
Packing top wind speeds of 151kmh near its eye, Bebinca landed in the city of nearly 25 million around 7.30am local time, state media reported, the strongest storm to strike Shanghai since Typhoon Gloria in 1949.
A red alert is in place, and some coastal residents have been evacuated, city authorities said.
Nine thousand residents have been evacuated from Chongming District, an island at the mouth of the Yangtze River, authorities said.
Shanghai is rarely subject to direct hits from strong typhoons that generally make landfall further south in China. Yagi, a destructive Category 4 storm, roared past southern Hainan province last week.
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled from the city’s two airports since Sunday night, with state broadcaster CCTV reporting that all flights at Shanghai’s two main airports would be cancelled from 8pm on Sunday because of the storm.
In an advisory posted on its website, Singapore Airlines (SIA) said four flights to and from Shanghai Pudong Airport on Sunday and Monday have been cancelled due to weather conditions caused by the storm.
SIA added that as the situation remains fluid, other flights between Singapore and China may be affected due to the storm.
In response to CNA’s queries on Sunday, Changi Airport Group said that 11 flights to Shanghai between Sunday and Monday are affected.
Shanghai railway station has also suspended some rail services. These disruptions come as China celebrates the three-day mid-Autumn Festival public holiday.
Resorts in Shanghai, including Shanghai Disney Resort, Jinjiang Amusement Park and Shanghai Wild Animal Park, have been temporarily closed and many ferries halted.
All highways were closed at 1am local time, and a 40kmh speed limit is in place on roads inside the city.
Shanghai’s flood control headquarters told CCTV they had already received dozens of reports of incidents related to the typhoon, mostly fallen trees and billboards.
CCTV broadcast footage of a reporter by the coast in neighbouring Zhejiang province, where waves pounded the craggy coastline under leaden skies.
“If I step out into (the storm), I can barely speak,” the reporter said.
“You can see that the surface of the sea is just wave after wave, each higher than the last.”