Typhoon “Bebinca” makes landfall in Shanghai as strongest to hit the city since 1949, China
Typhoon “Bebinca” made landfall in Shanghai (population 25 million), China at around 07:30 LT on Monday, September 16, 2024, with wind speed around the center of 151 km/h (94 mph). This is the 13th named storm of the 2024 Pacific typhoon season.
Image credit: ChinaWXnerds
- Typhoon “Bebinca” made landfall in Shanghai with wind speeds of up to 151 km/h (94 mph) on Monday, September 16, 2024, making it the strongest storm to hit the region since 1949. The storm caused widespread damage, including power outages, the uprooting of 10 000 trees, and the cancellation of over 1 400 flights.
- More than 414 000 people were evacuated from Shanghai before the typhoon’s landfall. Emergency responses were elevated across several provinces, with over 60 000 rescue workers and firefighters deployed to affected areas.
- The storm caused widespread disruptions, including the suspension of metro services, road closures, and the cancellation of over 570 trains and additional flights in the nearby Hangzhou region. Rainfall of up to 305 mm (12 inches) was expected across Shanghai and neighboring provinces between Monday and Wednesday.
Typhoon “Bebinca” made landfall in Shanghai on Monday at around 07:30 LT, according to the Shanghai Central Meteorological Observatory. Upon landfall, the storm had wind speeds of around 151 km/h (94 mph) near its eye, making it the strongest storm to hit the city since Typhoon “Gloria” in 1949.
A Level IV emergency response was activated for East China’s Anhui Province, and the response level in Shanghai and Zhejiang was raised to Level III on Sunday, September 15.
More than 414 000 people were evacuated ahead of the storm’s landfall. The Yangshan freight port was also closed before the landfall, and arrangements were made for truck drivers from outside Shanghai to stay in a designated drivers’ home near the port.
While torrential rains following the landfall caused flooding across the city, strong winds downed around 10 000 trees.
Several parks and businesses were closed across four districts, and metro services were disrupted.
So far, only 1 injury has been reported, caused by a fallen tree during the storm. More than 60 000 rescue workers and firefighters have been deployed to the affected regions. The storm caused power outages in at least 380 homes and has damaged 4 houses so far, affecting around 53.4 ha (132 acres) of land.
Around 1 400 flights were canceled, along with 570 train services, since Sunday evening in Shanghai. An additional 180 flights were canceled in the nearby Hangzhou region. Several roads and highways have been either closed or restricted. Flights resumed on Monday afternoon.
Visuals shared online show windows being blown off and parts of buildings falling off due to the winds, fallen trees, widespread flooding and damage across the city.
The video shared below shows just how strong the winds were, as they dragged a man on his scooter across the street:
By Monday afternoon, the eye of the storm had weakened and crossed from Shanghai to the neighboring province of Jiangsu, bringing rain to nearby provinces of Anhui and Zhejiang. Rain was expected to continue throughout the rest of the day.
Weather authorities expect Shanghai and parts of neighboring provinces to receive up to 305 mm (12 inches) of rainfall between Monday and Wednesday, September 18.
Local meteorological authorities in the city of Taicang recorded the strongest winds on Monday, reaching level 13 with a maximum speed of 135 km/h (84 mph) as Bebinca passed through Jiangsu Province.
As of 06:00 LT Monday, 46 300 people had been relocated across Jiangsu, and over 20 000 vessels had taken shelter from the typhoon, according to the Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.
Several bridges over the Yangtze River and expressways across Jiangsu implemented traffic control measures on Monday, while several subway sections in Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuxi, and other cities in the province suspended operations.
The province mobilized more than 130 000 inspection personnel, including 33 500 conducting dike inspections and risk assessments.
Before moving over Shanghai and Japan’s Ryukyu, Bebinca’s enhanced the southwest monsoon in the Philipines, resulting in nearly 100 damaged or destroyed homes, at least 6 fatalities, and 2 people missing. More than 36 600 people in the Philippines were displaced.
References:
1 Typhoon Bebinca lashes Shanghai in strongest storm to hit city since 1949 –Reuters– September 16, 2024
2 Typhoon Bebinca slams Shanghai, China, sparking evacuation of more than 400,000 people – CBS – September 16, 2024
3 Update: Typhoon Bebinca makes landfall in Shanghai – Xinhua– September 16, 2024
I am an Assistant Editor and Severe Weather & Science Journalist at The Watchers, specializing in real-time severe weather coverage, geophysical event reporting, and research-driven scientific analysis. You can reach me at rishav(at)watchers(.)news.
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