Millions of people were evacuated after a powerful typhoon made landfall near China’s financial hub Shanghai.
Typhoon Bepinga hit the coastal area of Linggang New City, east of Shanghai, at around 07:30 local time (23:30 GMT) on Monday, the China Meteorological Administration said.
Chinese state media said it was the strongest storm to hit Shanghai in 75 years.
As a precaution, local officials said more than 400,000 people in the Shanghai metropolitan area had been evacuated by Sunday evening.
Another 9,000 were evacuated from Chongming District, at the mouth of the Yangtze River, part of Shanghai.
Hundreds of flights were canceled as the city’s two main airports grounded all flights. Train services were also canceled and highways closed. A speed limit of 40km/h (25mph) was imposed on roads within the city.
Shanghai’s 25 million residents have been advised to stay indoors ahead of the storm’s arrival.
Officials issued a red alert for Pepinca after wind speeds of 151km/h (94 mph) were recorded in the eye of the typhoon.
Shanghai is rarely hit directly by strong typhoons that make landfall further south in China.
The city’s flood control headquarters said it had received dozens of reports of tornado-related incidents — mostly downed trees and billboards.
Resorts in Shanghai, including Shanghai Disney Resort, Xinjiang Amusement Park and Shanghai Wild Animal Park, were temporarily closed and many ferries were grounded.
Another storm, Yagi, At least four people were killed and 95 injured It passed through China’s southern Hainan Island earlier this month, according to national weather officials.
Yagi caused severe flooding in Southeast Asia. Killing hundreds of people in Vietnam and Myanmar.
Typhoon Pepinka passed through Japan and the central and southern Philippines, where six people were killed by downed trees.
Chinese state media said Pepinka was expected to move northwest, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces.
