Typhoon Muifa made two landfalls on China’s heavily populated eastern coast, bringing strong winds and heavy rain as it barreled toward Shanghai.
(Bloomberg) — Typhoon Muifa made two landfalls on China’s heavily populated eastern coast, bringing strong winds and heavy rain as it barreled toward Shanghai.
The storm made landfall in Zhoushan, near Ningbo, at 8:30 p.m. local time and at 12:30 a.m. on the coast of Fengxian district of Shanghai. The storm had sustained winds of 92 miles per hour on the US scale, according to the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
It was forecast to be the biggest to hit the Yangtze River Delta in 10 years, according to local media Caixin.
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.
A third storm, Tropical Storm Nanmadol is growing in strength south of Japan and could hit that country early next week.
(Updates with second landfall in second paragraph.)
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