Shanghai also suspended subway services on some lines serving its southern districts.
Shanghai:
Authorities in Shanghai and neighboring coastal areas canceled flights, and suspended schools, subways and trains as Typhoon Chanthu approached mainland China after drenching Taiwan.
Shanghai city officials said in a post on their official WeChat account that the storm, with winds of more than 170 kilometers per hour near its eye, had turned from a super typhoon into a strong typhoon on Sunday evening and gradually expected to be weak.
But still strong winds and heavy rain were expected in the coastal areas.
Zhejiang province near Shanghai on Sunday raised its emergency response to the highest level, closing schools and suspending flights and rail services in some cities, the official Xinhua news service reported.
Zhejiang has also issued a red alert regarding flash floods in nine districts.
In Shanghai, home to about 26 million people, all flights at the city’s large Pudong International Airport were to be canceled at 11 a.m. (0300 GMT) local time, while flights from the smaller Hongqiao Airport, west of the city, were to be canceled. From 3 p.m., the Shanghai government made the announcement on WeChat.
The city also suspended metro services on some lines serving the city’s southern districts, and said parks, outdoor tourist attractions and playgrounds would remain closed on Monday and Tuesday. Classes were to be postponed on Monday afternoon and Tuesday as well.
Official forecasts have predicted 250-280 mm of rain in some areas of southeastern Jiangsu province, Shanghai and northeastern Zhejiang.
Taiwan downgraded Typhoon Chanthu to a moderate typhoon on Saturday. The storm did not make direct landfall on the island.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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