Shanghai slammed by what China says is the city’s strongest storm in seven decades

Authorities claim that the greatest typhoon to strike Shanghai directly in over 70 years caused complete chaos on Monday, suspending travel on national holidays as well as flights, trains, and roadways.

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At roughly 7:30 a.m. local time, Typhoon Bebinca made landfall in an industrial area southeast of the 25 million-person city. Top wind speeds recorded by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) were 130 km/h (80 mph), which is the same as an Atlantic hurricane in the Category 1.

When the typhoon made landfall, the China Meteorological Administration recorded wind speeds of 151 kph (94 mph) close to its center. According to state media, this was the biggest storm to hit Shanghai since 1949.

The government warned of gale force winds, intense rain, and coastal flooding in vast areas of eastern China on Monday with a red typhoon warning, the most serious alert.

Travel plans for tourists have been impacted by the strong storm over the three-day national holiday known as the Moon Festival, or Mid-Autumn festival, which began on Sunday.

Since Sunday night at 8:00 p.m., all flights have been canceled at Shanghai’s two international airports. On Monday, the city also blocked ports, bridges, and highways, stopped several train lines, and paused its ferry services.

On Monday, a number of the city’s tourism attractions, including Shanghai Disney Resort, were closed. Disney employees are shown in videos on Douyin, China’s answer of Tiktok, taping trash cans to park walls.

By Monday at midnight, more than 414,000 people in Shanghai had been evacuated to safety, with school gyms and exhibition centers serving as impromptu shelters, according to a report by state broadcaster CCTV.

Similar safety precautions were also implemented in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, two nearby provinces. As of Monday afternoon, CCTV reported that over 1,600 flights had been canceled around the region.

Some Shanghai residents reported power and water shortages on Monday morning on Chinese social media. Over the weekend, a lot of people had hurried to stock up on food and supplies.

As the typhoon advances inland toward the west, it is anticipated to soon diminish into a tropical storm.