Typhoon Bebinka paralyzes Shanghai: the strongest storm in more than 70 years

The usually bustling financial center of Shanghai was paralyzed on Monday as residents took shelter at home to wait out the worst of Typhoon Bebinka, UNN reports citing Reuters.

Details

The Category 1 storm that hit Shanghai on Monday morning is the most powerful tropical cyclone to directly hit the city in more than seven decades.

With wind speeds of 151 km/h near its center, Bebinka hit the city of about 25 million people at around 7:30 a.m. local time. According to state media, it was the strongest storm to hit Shanghai since Typhoon Gloria in 1949.

The city was battered by rain and strong winds that toppled more than 10,000 trees across Shanghai, while more than 400,000 people were evacuated from homes at risk in the path of Bebinka.

More than 56,000 rescuers were deployed, and by noon, only one injury was reported as a result of the storm, according to state media.

More than 1,400 flights from the city's two airports and more than 570 passenger trains have been canceled since Sunday evening, disrupting the plans of many people traveling for the Mid-Autumn Festival, a three-day public holiday in China.

Parks and businesses were closed as four districts in Shanghai raised their weather warning levels to the highest possible, there were disruptions to some subway trains, and highways and elevated roads were also closed to traffic or had special speed limits.

Resorts in Shanghai, including Shanghai Disney Resort, Jinjiang Amusement Park, and Shanghai Wild Animal Park, were temporarily closed, and many ferries were stopped.

By early Monday, the center of the storm had moved from Shanghai to the neighboring province of Jiangsu, although it was expected to continue raining in China's financial capital until the end of the day.

Addendum

Shanghai is rarely directly hit by strong typhoons, which usually make landfall further south in China. "Yagi, a devastating Category 4 storm, passed over the southern province of Hainan last week.