Flights grounded in Shanghai as China prepares for typhoon

Shanghai halted transportation links, recalled ships and shut tourism spots, including Shanghai Disney Resort, on Sept 15 as it braced itself for Typhoon Bebinca in what could be the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the Chinese financial hub since 1949.

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The Category 1 typhoon, packing maximum sustained wind speeds near its centre of around 144kmh, was about 500km south-east of Shanghai as at 1pm.

It was expected to make landfall along China's densely populated eastern seaboard between Sept 15 and Sept 16, according to Beijing's Emergency Management Ministry.

State broadcaster CCTV reported that all flights at Shanghai's two main airports would be cancelled from 8pm on Sept 15.

Beijing's Emergency Management Ministry said in a statement on Sept 14 that the storm would cause heavy to torrential downpours, with “local heavy or extremely heavy rainstorms" between Sept 15 and 17.

The strongest storm to make landfall in Shanghai in recent decades was Typhoon Gloria in 1949, which tore through the city with gusts of 144kmh. Shanghai was last threatened by a direct hit in 2022 by the powerful Typhoon Muifa, which instead landed 300km away in the city of Zhoushan, in Zhejiang province.