Shanghai closes both airports due to Typhoon Bebinca, strongest in 75 years

“The strongest typhoon to make landfall in Shanghai since 1949.” Bebinca arrived in the Chinese megalopolis, which triggered a red alert on Monday, September 16. Winds of up to 151 km/h were recorded. All flights were canceled at the city’s two main airports. It advised its 25 million inhabitants not to leave their homes, while in the Chongming district, an island located at the mouth of the Yangtze River, 9,000 people were evacuated. Highways were closed from 1 a.m. (Paris time) and a limit of 40 kilometers per hour was set on the city’s streets.

According to Chinese media reports, Bebinca is expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds to Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces. As of 5 a.m. (Paris time), the typhoon was moving northwest at a speed of 15-20 kilometers per hour and its intensity was rapidly weakening. By Monday morning, the Shanghai flood control headquarters had received dozens of reports of accidents caused by the typhoon, mainly falling trees and billboards, CCTV reported.

Bebinca earlier passed over the southern Japanese island of Amami on Saturday night, packing winds of 198 km/h, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. On Friday, still a tropical storm, Bebinca hit the Philippines and killed six people when trees fell. Experts say typhoons are forming closer to shore, intensifying faster and staying over land longer because of climate change.