Powerful typhoon makes landfall with Shanghai in direct path

Typhoon Muifa made landfall on China’s heavily populated eastern coast, bringing strong winds and heavy rain as it barreled toward Shanghai. 

The storm, packing wind gusts of up to 94 miles (151 kilometers) per hour, made landfall in Zhoushan, near Ningbo, at 8:30 p.m. local time. The typhoon, which is expected to reach Shanghai’s Pudong area around midnight, is the biggest to hit the Yangtze River Delta in 10 years, according to local media Caixin. 

Muifa is weakening as it approaches Shanghai. Still, the region -- an industrial powerhouse and Asia’s largest container port hub -- is facing a direct hit from the storm. China issued the highest-level typhoon warning on Wednesday, the first time it has done so this year, according to state media. 

Major container ports in Shanghai and Ningbo suspended operations on expectations of heavy rains, strong winds and high waves. Liquefied natural gas import terminals in Ningbo, Zhoushan island and Jiangsu province have also shut. Zhoushan port is home to some of China’s largest oil storage tanks and refineries.

The storm, plus maintenance work on the country’s main import pipelines, will disrupt natural gas supply, according to Chinese consultant JLC. 

Shanghai’s two major airports canceled all flights as of late afternoon Wednesday, after earlier in the day saying 589 had been scrapped. Nearby Hangzhou canceled more than 200 flights. Over 380 trains in the Yangtze River Delta were suspended, and Shanghai said it would shut down all metro services that are not underground as of 9 p.m. local time Wednesday. 

Schools in the region were closed, and Ningbo said it would halt most Covid-19 test requirements.

Typhoon Muifa’s insured losses could reach $1 billion if it inflicts flooding damage to eastern China, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Steven Lam.

The China Meteorological Administration expects the region could get 100-250 millimeters (3.9-9.8 inches) of rain in the 24 hours starting Wednesday morning, Lam noted. Zhengzhou, the epicenter of severe floods in Henan last year, got as much as 553 millimeters of rain in a day.  

Muifa follows close behind Super Typhoon Hinnamnor, which passed by China’s eastern coast last week. That storm, while much more powerful, caused only minor disruption as its edges merely brushed the coast.