Typhoon Bebinca Strikes Shanghai, Marking Strongest Storm to Hit City Since 1949, Reports Reuters

By Casey Hall and Ryan Woo

SHANGHAI – The bustling financial center of Shanghai was brought to a halt on Monday as residents stayed indoors to ride out the impact of Typhoon Bebinca.

This Category 1 storm made landfall in Shanghai on Monday morning, marking it as the most powerful tropical cyclone to directly strike the city in over seventy years.

With maximum wind speeds reaching 151 kph (94 mph) near its center, Bebinca hit the city of nearly 25 million around 7:30 a.m. (2330 GMT), becoming the strongest storm to affect Shanghai since Typhoon Gloria in 1949.

Heavy rain swept across the city, and strong winds resulted in the uprooting of more than 10,000 trees as over 400,000 individuals were evacuated from vulnerable areas along Bebinca’s path.

More than 56,000 rescue workers were dispatched, and by early afternoon, only one injury had been reported due to the storm, according to local news reports.

Since Sunday evening, over 1,400 flights from the city’s two major airports and more than 570 passenger train services have been canceled, disrupting the travel plans of many during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday—a three-day observance in China.

Parks and businesses were closed as four districts in Shanghai raised weather alerts to the highest level. Some metro services were interrupted, and highways and elevated roads faced traffic restrictions or were closed altogether.

Popular attractions in Shanghai, such as the Disneyland Resort, Jinjiang Amusement Park, and Shanghai Wild Animal Park, were temporarily shut down, and many ferry services were suspended.

By early afternoon on Monday, the eye of the storm had moved from Shanghai into the neighboring Jiangsu province, although rain was expected to linger in the financial hub throughout the day.

Direct hits from strong typhoons are uncommon in Shanghai, as these storms typically make landfall further south in China. Last week, the destructive Category 4 storm Yagi passed by southern Hainan province.