Shanghai experiences strongest typhoon since 1949

Category 1 Typhoon Bebinca halts flights, closes tourist spots, and hits Shanghai during mid-Autumn Festival holiday

SHANGHAI:

Typhoon Bebinca made landfall in Shanghai on Monday morning as a Category 1 storm, marking the strongest tropical cyclone to directly hit the Chinese financial hub in over 70 years. With maximum wind speeds of 151 kph (94 mph) near its centre, Bebinca reached the city of nearly 25 million at around 7:30 a.m. (2330 GMT), making it the most powerful storm to hit Shanghai since Typhoon Gloria in 1949.

Shanghai is rarely hit directly by severe typhoons, which typically make landfall further south in China. Last week, Category 4 Typhoon Yagi swept past southern Hainan province.

Since Sunday night, hundreds of flights from the city's two airports have been cancelled, and some rail services from Shanghai railway station have been suspended. These disruptions coincide with China’s three-day mid-Autumn Festival public holiday. Major resorts such as Shanghai Disney Resort, Jinjiang Amusement Park, and Shanghai Wild Animal Park have been temporarily closed, with several ferry services also halted.