Beijing/Shanghai, Sep 16 (PTI) Bebinca, the strongest typhoon to have hit China’s Shanghai city in 75 years, on Monday left a trail of destruction, bringing the megacity with a 25 million population to a grinding halt.
Bebinca, the 13th typhoon to hit China this year, made landfall in Shanghai around 7:30 a.m., according to the Shanghai Central Meteorological Observatory.
The typhoon, with the maximum wind force near its centre reaching 42 meters per second, churned ashore at the Lingang area of Pudong district.
Bebinca, believed to be the strongest typhoon to hit Shanghai in 75 years, has unleashed gales and torrential rain in the city, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Pictures on social media showed trees uprooted and light poles toppled. The typhoon ruined the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday for the people of Shanghai.
Shanghai authorities have advised residents to stay indoors unless necessary.
On Sunday, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters activated the Level-IV emergency response for China’s eastern Anhui Province and raised the response in Shanghai and Zhejiang provinces to Level III.
Bebinca has led to flight cancellations over Shanghai and the suspension of passenger ferry operations in the city. Shanghai Railway Station also suspended passenger trains on several routes passing through the city from Sunday to Monday.
Shanghai Disneyland, Disneytown and Wishing Star Park remain closed on Monday, with the two resort hotels providing services to in-house guests, the Shanghai Disney Resort said in a statement. It added that normal operations are expected to resume from Tuesday.
Before the typhoon arrived, officials took precautionary measures such as closing the Yangshan freight port. Arrangements were made for truck drivers to stay in a “drivers’ home” near the port.
Doctors and nurses in the city were busy as the typhoon created trouble for their patients. Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital issued a notice on Monday asking pregnant women who were unable to come for their regular checks to reschedule their appointments. In case of emergency, however, they could still come and find doctors in the hospital.
The situation in Shanghai was reported to be improving late on Monday, with the centre of the typhoon moving away, the Xinhua report said.
Information from authorities shows that the services of passenger trains and flights are slowly resuming.
As Bebinca passes through the neighbouring Jiangsu Province from Shanghai, the local meteorological authorities in Taicang City recorded the strongest winds on Monday, reaching level 13 with a maximum speed of 37.5 meters per second.
So far, a total of 46,300 people had been relocated across Jiangsu, and over 20,000 vessels had taken shelter from the typhoon, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.
The province has mobilized more than 130,000 inspection personnel, with 33,500 conducting dike inspections and risk assessments.
Fishing ports along the coast of Jiangsu have recalled fishing boats working outside. The Jiangsu Provincial Meteorological Bureau predicts that Typhoon Bebinca will move northwest at a speed of about 15 km per hour, gradually weakening in intensity, and enter the provincial capital Nanjing around 10 p.m. before reaching the neighbouring Anhui Province around 2 a.m. on Tuesday. PTI KJV AMS ZH ZH
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