Shanghai braces for Typhoon Chanthu as it approaches China coast
- School, flights and rail services suspended in the port city and neighbouring coastal regions
- ‘Super’ typhoon downgraded on Sunday evening after drenching Taiwan but causing little damage
The storm, with winds of more than 170km/hr (105mph) near its eye, was downgraded from a super typhoon to a strong typhoon on Sunday evening and was expected to gradually weaken, Shanghai city authorities said in a post on their official WeChat account. But it was still expected to bring strong winds and heavy rain to coastal regions.
Authorities in the city and nearby areas cancelled flights and suspended schools and trains.
The province of Zhejiang near Shanghai raised its emergency response to the highest level on Sunday, closing schools and suspending flights and rail services in some cities, according to the official Xinhua news service.
Zhejiang also issued red alerts for flash floods in nine districts. Ningbo port, China’s second-biggest container transport hub after Shanghai, suspended operations from noon on Sunday. The port had just resumed operations after weeks of congestion, following Typhoon In-Fa in late July and a terminal closure related to Covid-19 in mid-August.