SHANGHAI, China: Typhoon Bebinca, the strongest storm to hit Shanghai since 1949, made landfall on Monday, bringing powerful winds and torrential rain to the city. Authorities issued a red alert, evacuating coastal residents and advising the 25 million residents of Shanghai to stay indoors.
The typhoon struck the coastal area of Lingang New City, in Pudong, early Monday, causing widespread disruption. All flights at Shanghai’s two main airports were grounded, ferry services and some trains were suspended, and highways were closed, with a 25-mile-per-hour speed limit enforced on city roads. At rush hour, the city’s normally congested streets were eerily empty, while its iconic skyline was shrouded in thick fog.
Nearly 9,000 people were evacuated from Chongming District, and Shanghai’s flood control authorities received numerous reports of fallen trees and damaged billboards. In neighboring Zhejiang province, waves pounded the coastline, as ferocious winds battered the region.
Typhoon Bebinca has already affected Japan and the Philippines, where it caused six deaths. It is expected to continue moving northwest, impacting Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces. Scientists attribute increasingly intense storms like Bebinca to climate change, driven by global greenhouse gas emissions.
