Shanghai braces for direct hit as Typhoon Muifa churns towards China’s east coast
- The 12th typhoon of the year is expected to bring heavy rain, strong winds
- Weather officials upgrade typhoon emergency response to second-highest level
The storm, packing wind gusts of up to 193km (120 miles) per hour, was expected to make landfall near the major port city of Ningbo on Wednesday afternoon, and then continue north to Shanghai, state news agency Xinhua reported.
China’s national observatory had issued a red alert, and the China Meteorological Administration upgraded the typhoon emergency response to level 2, the second-highest.
Muifa, the 12th typhoon this year, is expected to weaken as it approaches Shanghai, with the US Joint Typhoon Warning Centre predicting that wind gusts will slow to 167km per hour on Wednesday evening.
Shanghai’s two major airports cancelled 589 flights on Wednesday, while nearby Hangzhou scrapped more than 200. More than 380 trains in the Yangtze River Delta were suspended, according to a statement from China Railway’s Shanghai unit. Schools in the region were closed, and Ningbo said it would halt most Covid-19 test requirements.