Chinese authorities are bracing for heavy rains on Sunday as powerful Typhoon Bebinca approaches the country’s most populous city, coinciding with a public holiday when 74 million travellers could travel.
It is expected to make landfall and reach Shanghai, among others, between Sunday evening and Monday morning, according to the Ministry of Disaster Management. The powerful typhoon, named Bebinca, could cause very heavy rains, even “torrential” between Sunday and Tuesday. Officials met on Saturday to “find and deploy” protective measures in the “key regions”according to this press release.
With the typhoon’s arrival coinciding with the Mid-Autumn Festival, a public holiday in the country, the railway operator expects passengers to make 74 million trips during the holiday, the official Xinhua news agency reported Saturday. The Ministry of Disaster Management has therefore urged officials to be vigilant, as “mobility will be high and risks will be significant.”
All air and sea connections suspended
The Ministry of Water Resources on Saturday issued a level four (lowest) emergency operation for flooding risks in Shanghai and the eastern provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The meteorological service on Sunday issued orange typhoon warnings – the second highest in a four-tier system – for several counties in Shanghai and some areas in neighboring provinces. It advised people to refrain from gathering in large numbers, return ships to port and reinforce structures against strong winds. Shanghai authorities on Sunday urged residents to do their best to guard against the typhoon’s effects. “at high altitude” and in “transport, infrastructure and agriculture”.
All flights will be cancelled Sunday at Shanghai’s two main airports, Chinese state television CCTV reported. Traffic, affected by the approach of Typhoon Bebinca, has already decreased at the two affected airports and “from 8:00 p.m. (2:00 p.m. in France), all flights are cancelled,” CCTV reported. All flights to and from Shanghai were canceled as of 8 p.m. local time on Sunday, state media CCTV said. Passenger shipping routes are also to be suspended from Sunday, according to an official statement from the municipal port posted on social media.
More intense typhoons over land
A few days ago, in early September, another typhoon, Yagi, hit the southern Chinese island of Hainan (south), killing at least four people and injuring 95, according to authorities. Experts say typhoons are forming closer to shore, intensifying faster and staying over land longer because of climate change. China is the world’s top emitter of greenhouse gases, which fuel global warming.
Bebinca also passed over the Japanese island of Amami (south) during the night from Saturday to Sunday, blowing winds measured at 198 km/h, declared the Japanese Meteorological Agency, which reported a “risk of landslides due to heavy rains.” Six people in the Philippines were killed by falling trees caused by Tropical Storm Bebinca, which battered central and southern parts of the country on Friday with strong winds and flooding, officials said Sunday.
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