China prepares for heavy rain as typhoon nears Shanghai

As a powerful typhoon reached China’s densely populated eastern seaboard on Sunday, authorities made plans for significant rainfall.

According to Beijing’s emergency management ministry, typhoon Bebinca was predicted to make landfall between Sunday night and Monday early along a stretch of coastline that included the megacity of Shanghai.

In a statement released on Saturday, the ministry stated that between Sunday and Tuesday, the storm would bring “local heavy or extremely heavy rainstorms” along with “heavy to torrential” downpours.

According to the statement, officials convened on Saturday to “research and deploy flood and typhoon control work in key areas.”

Bebinca is predicted to make landfall in China during the Mid-Autumn Festival, a national holiday.

Over 74 million travels are anticipated by the nation’s railway operator over the vacation, according to a report released on Saturday by state news agency Xinhua.

Authorities need to “pay close attention to the typhoon’s development,” according to the disaster management ministry, which also stated that “many people will be travelling, mobility will be high, and safety risks will be prominent.”

According to Xinhua, the water resources ministry initiated a level-four emergency response on Saturday, which is the lowest in a tiered system, in reaction to floods that occurred in Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui.

On Sunday, the weather service issued orange typhoon warnings, the second-highest in a four-tier system, for a number of Shanghai districts and parts of neighbouring provinces.

It suggested that people avoid congregating in big groups, vessels should return to port, and flimsy buildings should be reinforced against strong winds.

“Strengthen efforts to guard against harmful effects of the typhoon on high-altitude work, transport, infrastructure and agriculture,” Shanghai municipal authorities advised its citizens on Sunday.

The storm caused some flights to and from major Shanghai airports to be cancelled or rescheduled on Sunday, according to state media and airlines.

An official post on the social media account of the Shanghai port and shipping development centre stated that passenger shipping lines were to be discontinued as of Sunday.