Shanghai on high alert as Typhoon Co-May forces 280,000 to evacuate

Typhoon Co-May is wreaking havoc across eastern China, prompting mass flights, ferry operations cancellation and mass evacuations.

Co-May, the eighth typhoon of the year, brought strong winds and torrential rains to the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu on Wednesday, July 30.

Level II emergency protocols were activated after heavy rainfall was reported in half of the city’s districts. China has a four level emergency response system with Level 1 being the most severe.

According to Shanghai Airport, 30 per cent of flight operations were affected and nearly 640 flights were cancelled.

Ferry operations were suspended too and China's tallest building, 632-meter-tall Shanghai Tower, also closed its observation desk due to safety concerns.

The typhoon was followed by tsunami warnings triggered after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck Russia. The warnings were lifted later in the day for Shanghai and Zhoushan.

China Meteorological News reported that Co-May’s “low intensity, slow movement and prolonged effects posed significant risks.”

The chief forecaster at National Meteorological Center, Chen Tao, said, “The typhoon’s weak steering flow after landfall results in prolonged precipitation periods with high intensity short-term rainfall, leading to substantial accumulated rainfall.”

Typhoon Co-May has resulted in widespread flooding, infrastructure damage and mass evacuations. Almost 30 deaths have been reported so far and the typhoon is currently moving northwest as authorities remain on high alert.