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Shanghai braces for direct hit as Typhoon Muifa churns towards China’s east coast
- The 12th typhoon of the year is expected to bring heavy rain, strong winds
- Weather officials upgrade typhoon emergency response to second-highest level
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Typhoon Muifa barrelled towards Shanghai on Wednesday, threatening to bring strong winds, heavy rain and flooding to the heavily populated region along China’s eastern coast.
The storm, packing wind gusts of up to 193km (120 miles) per hour, was expected to make landfall near the major port city of Ningbo on Wednesday afternoon, and then continue north to Shanghai, state news agency Xinhua reported.
China’s national observatory had issued a red alert, and the China Meteorological Administration upgraded the typhoon emergency response to level 2, the second-highest.
Muifa, the 12th typhoon this year, is expected to weaken as it approaches Shanghai, with the US Joint Typhoon Warning Centre predicting that wind gusts will slow to 167km per hour on Wednesday evening.
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Still, the region – Asia’s largest container port hub – faces a direct hit. Major ports in Shanghai and Ningbo suspended operations and liquefied natural gas import terminals in Ningbo, Zhoushan island and Jiangsu province were also shut. Zhoushan port is home to some of China’s largest oil storage tanks and refineries.
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