SHANGHAI ordered the closure of schools and parks, and trains and flights were canceled as Typhoon Chanthu headed for Shanghai and neighboring Zhejiang Province after drenching Taiwan with heavy rain yesterday.
Shanghai Meteorological Bureau’s upgraded the typhoon alert to yellow, the second-lowest of a four-level system. It also issued lightning and rain alerts.
It is the year’s 14th typhoon.
The eye of Chanthu, now categorized as a super typhoon, was about 430 kilometers from Xiangshan County in Zhejiang at 5pm yesterday. The storm is expected to make landfall in south Shanghai today evening before turning east toward South Korea and Japan.
The Shanghai flood prevention office has issued a Level-III (the second-lowest) emergency response, warning residents and relevant local departments to stay alert and prepare for all eventualities.
Those who are likely to be affected by the typhoon will be evacuated by noon today, the office said.
It has asked primary and high schools and kindergartens to suspend classes today and tomorrow to avoid the extreme weather.
All outdoor tourist attractions and amusement parks will be closed for two days, the Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism said.
People with tickets for Shanghai Disneyland can visit the theme park any other day within six months or claim a refund.
About 80 percent of today’s passenger flights are canceled.
All flights scheduled after 11am today from Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport have been canceled, while Hongqiao International Airport will halt operations from 3pm, the Shanghai Airport Authority announced last night.
The takeoff and landing capacity of the two airports will be largely reduced after midnight today.
China Southern will cancel all 154 passenger flights to the city today. The operation of the flights will be restored as soon as the weather permits, the Guangzhou-based carrier said yesterday.
Flights, trains canceled
The airline canceled 27 flights from the two airports yesterday,…