China prepares for rain as Typhoon approaches Shanghai

Chinese authorities prepared for heavy rain on Sunday as a strong typhoon approached the country’s heavily populated eastern seaboard.

Typhoon Bebinca was expected to make landfall along a swath of coastline, including the megacity of Shanghai, between Sunday night and Monday morning, according to Beijing’s emergency management ministry.

The ministry said in a statement on Saturday that the storm would cause “heavy to torrential” downpours with “local heavy or extremely heavy rainstorms” between Sunday and Tuesday.

Officials held a meeting Saturday to “research and deploy flood and typhoon control work in key areas”, it said.

Bebinca’s expected landfall will come during the Mid-Autumn Festival, a public holiday in China.

Typhoon Bebinca was expected to make landfall along a swath of coastline, including the megacity of Shanghai, between Sunday night and Monday morning, according to Beijing’s emergency management ministry.

The ministry said in a statement on Saturday that the storm would cause “heavy to torrential” downpours with “local heavy or extremely heavy rainstorms” between Sunday and Tuesday.

Officials held a meeting Saturday to “research and deploy flood and typhoon control work in key areas”, it said.

Bebinca’s expected landfall will come during the Mid-Autumn Festival, a public holiday in China.

The country’s railway operator is expecting passengers to take 74 million trips during the holiday, state news agency Xinhua reported Saturday.

The emergency management ministry said officials must “pay close attention to the development of the typhoon,” adding that “many people will be traveling, mobility will be high, and safety risks will be prominent.”

The water resources ministry launched on Saturday a level-four emergency response — the lowest in a tiered system — for flooding in Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui, according to Xinhua.

The weather office issued orange typhoon warnings — the second-highest in a four-tier system — for several districts in Shanghai and areas of nearby provinces on Sunday.

It advised that people refrain from gathering in large numbers, boats return to port, and rickety structures be strengthened against high winds.

Shanghai municipal authorities urged residents on Sunday to “strengthen efforts to guard against harmful effects of the typhoon on high-altitude work, transportation, infrastructure, and agriculture.”

Some flights to and from major airports in Shanghai were canceled or rescheduled on Sunday because of the typhoon, state media and airlines said.

Passenger shipping lines were scheduled to be suspended in Shanghai from Sunday, according to an official statement on the social media account of the municipal port and shipping development centre.

AFP