Typhoon Meva drives 1.6 million people from their homes in eastern China

Strong winds and rain hit eastern China on Thursday as Typhoon Moiva forced 1.6 million people from their homes and grounded most flights from Shanghai’s main airport.

State broadcaster CCTV reported that Muiva was the strongest typhoon to hit Shanghai, the city of 25 million people, since official records began in 1949.

Initially, no deaths or injuries were reported.

At least 426,000 people have left their homes in Shanghai and 1.2 million have been moved to temporary shelters in neighboring Zhejiang Province, the department added.

The rains caused traffic jams and floods in the Yangtze River Delta, a major industrial center in the country.

Giant waves washed ashore in Hangzhou Bay, south of Shanghai, and national radio reported a landslide in Ninhai County, Zhejiang Province.

The storm reached 125 km per land hour at 12:30 a.m. Thursday (Wednesday afternoon in Brazil) in Shanghai’s Fengxian District.

A few hours ago, the authorities canceled flights in the main financial center of China.

And the new China News Agency (Xinhua) reported that Typhoon Muiva hit, on Wednesday, Zhoushan city in Zhejiang.

Air traffic slowly resumed in Shanghai as the storm moved north, but most flights from the city’s two airports were canceled Thursday morning, according to the Flightradar24 website.

Operations at the Shanghai and Ningbo Container Terminals, the largest in Asia, were suspended due to the typhoon, but operations are expected to resume later on Thursday, according to port authorities.

Authorities also ordered fishing vessels from the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Strait to stay at anchor during the typhoon’s passage.

This phenomenon hit east China’s Jiangsu Province Thursday morning. The Central Meteorological Observatory said wind gusts decreased to 90 kilometers per hour.

Shanghai and its vicinity were affected last week by Typhoon Hinnamor, which caused the closure of schools in Zhejiang regions.

Moiva is the 12th typhoon to hit China this year.