Typhoon Bebinka, which hit Shanghai in eastern China on Monday morning, was the strongest to hit the city since 1949, China’s Central Meteorological Administration said. The typhoon hit Shanghai at 7:30 a.m. Monday (2:30 a.m. Moscow time), when the maximum wind force reached 42 meters per second.
“Bebinka surpassed Typhoon 4906 Gloria and became the strongest typhoon to hit Shanghai since 1949.” – the department said in a statement.
Bebinka is expected to continue moving west-northwestward at a speed of about 25 kilometers per hour, gradually weakening in intensity, and on the evening of September 17, it will weaken into a tropical depression in the area where Anhui and Henan provinces meet.
Earlier, China’s Central Meteorological Administration issued the highest red alert level for the typhoon.
Shanghai Pudong and Hongqiao airports cancelled all flights after 8 p.m. (3 p.m. Moscow time) on Sunday. China Central Television reported that flights were suspended until 2 p.m. Monday (9 a.m. Moscow time). Ningbo airport also stopped operating flights; flights are expected to resume at 11:30 a.m. Monday (6:30 a.m. Moscow time). In addition, as reported by the TV channel, passenger trains have been suspended on some lines of the Yangtze River Delta Railway. Shanghai highways are closed or under control, and a speed limit of 40 kilometers per hour has been imposed on roads, RIA Novosti clarifies.
