Singaporeans stay indoors to avoid worst of typhoon

They saw fallen trees, experienced power outages and had to cancel plans, but Singaporeans in Shanghai managed to keep themselves safe by staying indoors as Typhoon Bebinca raged outside.

- Sarah Koh

They had been informed of the coming storm via formal and informal channels, such as government apps and chat groups of Singaporeans living in China, with some saying it was the worst typhoon they had encountered while living there.

The typhoon made landfall in Shanghai's eastern coastal area in the early hours of Sept 16, with wind speeds of around 150kmh.

This was reportedly the strongest storm to hit Shanghai since 1949.

The municipal news service said the typhoon had caused "significant damage across the city", downing trees, disrupting traffic and forcing attractions such as Shanghai Disney Resort to close temporarily, as China marked the Mid-Autumn Festival with public holidays from Sept 15 to 17.

Ms Jingyi Pan, a 39-year-old Singaporean architect, had initially planned a two-day camping trip during the public holidays but was forced to remain indoors, as trees thrashed back and forth outside her home during the storm, with branches occasionally hitting her windows.