Shanghai cancels flights as China braces for Typhoon Bebinca

All flights at Shanghai’s two airports will be canceled from 8 p.m. local time (1200 GMT) on Sunday, officials said as the Chinese megacity braced for strong winds and heavy rain with powerful Typhoon Bebinca drawing near.

Typhoon is currently a few hundred kilometers (miles) off the coast. It is expected to make landfall in eastern China after midnight Monday.

The China Meteorological Administration issued a typhoon red alert Sunday afternoon, warning of gales and heavy rains in the region. The winds are expected to reach 151 km (94 miles) per hour by Sunday night, according to the administration.

The emergency management ministry warned Bebinca would cause “heavy to torrential” downpours with “local heavy or extremely heavy rainstorms” between Sunday and Tuesday.

The typhoon could be the strongest tropical cyclone to hit China’s financial hub since 1949. Another typhoon, Yagi, killed at least four people and injured 95 when it struck China’s southern island of Hainan earlier this month, according to authorities.

In addition to the two airports grounding flights, Shanghai Railway Station also suspended some if its services to ensure passenger safety, and the Shenzhen government said trains to and from Shanghai would be halted.

Bebinca is expected to land during the Mid-Autumn Festival in China. The country’s railway operator expects 74 million passenger trips during the holiday, state news agency Xinhua reported.

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

Most ferries to and from Chongming Island, China’s third largest island and considered “the gateway to the Yangtze River,” were also suspended.

In Zhejiang, ships were called back, while several parks in the provincial capital of Hangzhou announced closures.

Bebinca passed Philippines and Japan
On its way to China, Bebinca already passed over Japan’s Amami island overnight, packing gusts of up to nearly 200 kilometers per hour, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The agency warned of an increased risk of landslides due to heavy rain.

The storm also hit the central and southern Philippines on Friday. Philippine officials said Sunday that falling trees had killed six people as the tropical storm brought strong winds and flooding.