According to the Straits Times' latest typhoon report, Typhoon Bebinca made landfall in Shanghai at around 7:30 a.m. on September 16, with maximum winds near the storm's center reaching 151 km/h. Bebinca is the strongest typhoon to hit the Chinese city of nearly 25 million people since Typhoon Gloria in 1949.
"The maximum wind speed near the center of the storm was 42 m/s (151 km/h) when it made landfall. Bebinca also surpassed typhoon Gloria and became the strongest typhoon to hit Shanghai since 1949," CCTV's storm bulletin said.
Shanghai rarely experiences direct landfall from powerful typhoons. Typically, strong typhoons hit mainland China farther south. Typhoon Yagi strengthened into a devastating super typhoon as it swept through southern China's Hainan province last week.
Hundreds of flights were canceled at Shanghai's two international airports from the night of September 15. Shanghai Railway Station also suspended some train services. The disruptions come as China is on a three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.
Entertainment venues in Shanghai, including Shanghai Disney Resort, Jinjiang Amusement Park and Shanghai Wild Animal Park, have been temporarily closed. Many ferry services have been suspended.
China's Ministry of Emergency Management warned on September 14 that Typhoon Bebinca would bring heavy rain, with "localized or extremely heavy rain" from September 15 to 17.
Chinese officials held a meeting on September 14 to "study and deploy flood and storm control work in key areas."
Typhoon Gloria hit Shanghai in 1949 with wind gusts of up to 144 km/h. The last time a strong typhoon was forecast to hit Shanghai was Typhoon Muifa in 2022. However, this typhoon made landfall 300 km away from Shanghai in Zhoushan City, Zhejiang Province.
According to the latest typhoon forecast from the US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), after making landfall in Shanghai, Typhoon Bebinca will move west-northwest under the influence of a subtropical ridge. Interaction with land is forecast to cause the latest storm in the western Pacific to downgrade to a tropical depression and dissipate in the next 36 hours.
