Typhoon Hagupit brings rains to coastal China, heads toward Shanghai

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A typhoon brought high winds and heavy rains to China’s eastern coastal areas Tuesday and was headed toward the financial hub of Shanghai. China’s National Meteorological Center said Typhoon Hagiput made landfall in Zhejiang province around 3:30 a.m., with winds blowing up to 136.8 kilometers (85 miles) per hour at its center.

It was moving north at around 25 kilometers (16 miles) per hour in the direction of Shanghai, which was overcast Tuesday morning with rain expected in the afternoon. Hagiput was expected gradually turn in a northeasterly direction, heading out to sea again on Wednesday morning and moving toward the Korean Peninsula.

China had ordered evacuations of vulnerable coastal areas in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces to the south, recalled fishing boats and suspended ferry service and some trains.

There were no immediate reports of major destruction or injuries resulting from the storm. State broadcaster CCTV showed trees toppled in the Zhejiang city of Yuhuan, but there were no indications of serious damage to property.

In the major Zhejiang manufacturing center of Wenzhou, south of Shanghai, authorities reported evacuating 200,000 people to shelters and recalling more than 6,000 fishing boats to port. Waves along the coast were reported at heights of 4.2 meters (14 feet).

This year’s typhoon season has been relatively mild in China, although flooding since June along its major river systems has caused scores of deaths, forced around 2 million people to be evacuated and caused more than 49 billion yuan ($7 billion) in damage.