China: Typhoon Bebinca makes landfall in Shanghai

Typhoon Bebinca landed in Shanghai on Monday as a Category 1 storm, making it the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the Chinese financial center in over 70 years.

Bebinca packed top wind speeds of 151 kilometers per hour (roughly 94 miles per hour) near its eye as it landed in the coastal Pudong district of Shanghai on Monday at around 7:30 a.m. local time (Sunday at 2330 UTC).

Reports said that more than 400,000 people had been evacuated from at-risk homes in Bebinca's path. 

Nearly 60,000 emergency responders and firefighters were deployed to aid in Shanghai, as per state media. 

State television shared visuals of avenues with uprooted trees as powerful winds felled over 10,000 of them across the city. 

Meanwhile, at least 380 households were left without power. 

How has Bebinca impacted Shanghai?

A red alert was issued and some coastal areas have been evacuated, city authorities reported. 

The typhoon disrupted travel plans of people on the move during China's Mid-Autumn Festival, a three-day public holiday. 

All flights at Shanghai's two main airports were grounded as the typhoon dumped torrential rains on the city.

All highways have been closed and a 40 kilometer per hour speed limit was put into place on roads inside the city.

Some rail services were also suspended at Shanghai railway station.

The city's some 25 million people have been advised to stay indoors. 

Strong typhoons rarely strike Shanghai and usually make landfall further south in China.

Bebinca is the strongest storm to hit the city since Typhoon Gloria in 1949, according to state media.

dvv/msh (AFP, Reuters)