TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The strongest typhoon to hit Shanghai since at least 1949 flooded roads with water and broken tree branches, knocked out power to some homes and injured at least one person when it slammed into the financial center on Monday.
More than 414,000 people were evacuated due to strong winds and heavy rain. Schools were closed and people were advised to stay indoors.
An elderly man was injured when a tree fell on Shanghai’s Chongming Island, local media reported. He was taken to hospital for treatment.
Typhoon Pepinka had sustained winds of 151 km/h (94 mph) near its center in the Pudong business district around 7:30 a.m.
Images broadcast by the state media show that roads in the district are flooded due to continuous rains. Elsewhere in Shanghai, uprooted trees and fallen branches blocked some roads and sidewalks. As the tornado subsided, responders removed branches and other items blown by the storm.
More than 60,000 emergency responders and firefighters are on hand to provide assistance in Shanghai.
Officials said more than 10,000 trees were uprooted or damaged by the winds, power was cut to at least 380 homes and four others were damaged.
At least 53 hectares (132 acres) of farmland were flooded.
The typhoon weakened as it moved inland, inundating parts of Jiangsu, Anhui, and Zhejiang provinces.
Plane, ferry and train services have been suspended in the megacity and neighboring provinces, disrupting travel during China’s three-day Mid-Autumn Festival. Shanghai’s airports canceled more than 1,400 flights, while authorities in Hangzhou, 170 kilometers (106 miles) southwest of Shanghai, canceled more than 180 flights.
Meteorological officials expect up to 30 centimeters (12 inches) of rain to fall between Monday and Wednesday in parts of Shanghai and neighboring provinces.
Shanghai, home to 25 million people, is rarely hit by strong typhoons, which usually make landfall further south in China.
Typhoon Yagi hits China South Hainan Island It wreaked havoc in Southeast Asia earlier this month. In Myanmar, Yagi It left at least 74 dead and dozens missing. Four deaths were reported in Hainan, at least 10 and 20 in Thailand In the Philippines.
Vietnam reported More than 230 people were killed in the cyclone and the ensuing floods and landslides, with dozens more missing.
___
Associated Press researcher Henry Hu in Beijing contributed to this report.
“Friend of animals everywhere. Devoted analyst. Total alcohol scholar. Infuriatingly humble food trailblazer.”