(Bloomberg) — Typhoon Bebinca’s imminent landing in China’s east coast has led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights and the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of residents in Shanghai and some other coastal cities, disrupting the plans of millions of holiday makers at the start of a national festival.
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Bebinca, which China refers to as Beibijia, is set to hit the Yangtze River Delta region in early Monday, along the coast from Ningbo in Zhejiang to Shanghai and Qidong in Jiangsu, bringing gales and downpours to multiple regions, state media reported.
Bebinca is expected to become the biggest typhoon to hit China’s financial capital and shipping hub since 1949, state media said, citing the National Meteorological Center’s forecast. It will bring significant rainfall and high tides when it lands, the city’s weather agency said.
Shanghai initiated a top-level emergency response at 2pm local time on Sunday, suspending railways, closing ports, bridges and highways. All flights in and out of the mega city’s two airports have been canceled after 8pm on Sunday, according to the airport operator. Through the day, more than 600 flights were already canceled.
Personnel at Shanghai’s major container port of Yangshan were to be evacuated by 6pm on Sunday, while Shanghai’s Chongming District was relocating 9,318 people to safe places, according to local media reports late on Sunday. Zhoushan, home to some of China’s largest oil storage tanks and refineries, warned people to stay indoors as rain and strong winds began lashing the city during the afternoon.
China’s three-day, mid-autumn festival holiday started on Sunday. Disruptions to travel could further dampen consumption in the world’s second-largest economy.
The national railway operator estimates passenger traffic may reach 74 million during the mid-autumn festival, Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday. The cross-regional flow of people over the country reached 195 million that day, 42% higher than a year earlier, Cailian reported on Sunday, citing the Ministry of Transport.
(Adds latest weather forecast and Shanghai’s flight cancellation)
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