Flights grounded in Shanghai as China prepares for typhoon

SHANGHAI: All flights at Shanghai´s two main airports were cancelled on Sunday as authorities in the Chinese megacity prepared for a strong typhoon bringing high winds and heavy rain.

Typhoon Bebinca is expected to make landfall along a swath of China´s densely populated eastern seaboard between Sunday night and Monday morning, according to Beijing´s emergency management ministry.

State broadcaster CCTV reported that all flights at Shanghai´s two main airports would be cancelled from 8 pm on Sunday (1200 GMT) because of the storm.

“Affected by Typhoon Bebinca, the traffic capacity of Shanghai´s Pudong and Hongqiao airports has decreased today,” CCTV said.

“Flight adjustments at the two main airports will be promptly released to the public in accordance with the impact of the typhoon,” it said.

The emergency management ministry said in a statement on Saturday that Bebinca would cause “heavy to torrential” downpours with “local heavy or extremely heavy rainstorms” between Sunday and Tuesday.

Officials held a meeting on Saturday to “research and deploy flood and typhoon control work in key areas”, it said.

Bebinca´s expected landfall will come during the Mid-Autumn Festival public holiday. China´s railway operator is expecting passengers to take 74 million trips during the holiday, state news agency Xinhua reported on Saturday.