The strongest typhoon to strike Shanghai since at least 1949 hit the city on Monday, causing significant disruptions and damage. Typhoon Bebinca brought powerful winds of up to 151 kph (94 mph) as it made landfall in the Pudong business district, knocking out power, uprooting trees, and injuring at least one person.
More than 414,000 people were evacuated from the area before the storm hit. Schools were closed, and residents were urged to stay indoors. An elderly man on Shanghai’s Chongming Island was injured by a falling tree and was hospitalized, according to state media reports.
The storm caused widespread flooding, with roads submerged under torrential rain in Pudong and other parts of the city. Authorities reported that over 10,000 trees were uprooted or damaged, and at least 380 households experienced power outages. In addition to the damage to homes and infrastructure, 53 hectares (132 acres) of farmland were also flooded.
More than 60,000 emergency responders, including firefighters, were deployed to assist residents and clear debris from roads and sidewalks as the typhoon weakened. The storm also caused significant travel disruptions, with flights, ferries, and trains suspended across Shanghai and neighboring provinces. Hundreds of flights were canceled at Shanghai’s airports, though services resumed Monday afternoon as the storm moved inland.
Typhoon Bebinca weakened as it moved across Jiangsu, Anhui, and Zhejiang provinces, but weather authorities warned that parts of these areas could receive up to 30 centimeters (12 inches) of rain between Monday and Wednesday.
While Shanghai, home to 25 million people, is not typically in the path of typhoons, which usually make landfall further south in China, this powerful storm caused widespread damage and disruption across the region. Earlier in the month, Typhoon Yagi struck China’s southern Hainan island and caused significant destruction throughout Southeast Asia, with death tolls reported in Myanmar, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam.