SHANGHAI/BEIJING, Sept 15 (Askume) – Shanghai suspended transport on Sunday, recalled ships and closed tourist attractions including the Shanghai Disney Resort in response to Typhoon Babinka, the strongest typhoon since 1949. The most powerful tropical cyclone ever to hit China’s financial hub.
At 5:00 pm (0900 GMT), the Category 1 typhoon was located about 400 kilometres southeast of Shanghai, with maximum sustained winds of about 144 kilometres per hour (89 mph) near its centre. It is expected to reach China’s east coast after midnight on Monday.
The China Meteorological Administration issued a typhoon red alert on Sunday afternoon, warning of typhoons and heavy rain in eastern China.
The most powerful storm to hit Shanghai in recent decades was Typhoon Loria in 1949, which devastated the city with winds of 144 kilometres per hour. The last time Shanghai was threatened with a direct strike was in 2022, when powerful Typhoon Meihua struck the city of Zhoushan in Zhejiang province, 300 kilometres away.
Shanghai is usually spared from powerful storms that hit southern China, including the devastating Category 4 Typhoon Yagi that struck southern Hainan province last week. But Shanghai and neighboring provinces are not bracing for the Category 1 Bebinca.
All flights at Shanghai’s two airports will be cancelled from 8pm local time on Sunday, and operator Shanghai Airport (Group) Co. said it would announce adjustments based on the storm’s impact.
The Shanghai Railway Station has also suspended some services to ensure passenger safety, and the Shenzhen government has said it will halt trains to and from Shanghai.
Shanghai resorts such as Shanghai Disney Resort, Jinjiang Amusement Park, and Shanghai Wildlife Park have been temporarily closed, and Chongming Island, China’s third-largest island, known as the “gateway to the Yangtze River”, has also been closed to most tourists.
Zhejiang has recalled ships and the provincial capital Hangzhou has announced the closure of several parks.
The arrival of bebinca coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival, a nationwide three-day holiday in which many Chinese travel or participate in outdoor activities.
China’s Ministry of Water Resources on Saturday issued a Level 4 emergency response for potential flooding in Shanghai and other provinces such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, the lowest level in China’s four-level emergency response system.
