Typhoon Bebinca made landfall on the morning of September 16, 2024, in Shanghai, at 7:30 a.m. According to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, the typhoon had maximum wind speeds of 130 kilometers per hour, categorizing it as a Category 1 Atlantic hurricane equivalent.
The China Meteorological Administration recorded 151 kph wind speeds near the typhoon’s eye, which earned Bebinca the title of the most powerful storm to directly hit Shanghai since 1949.
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The storm arrived during the Mid-Autumn Festival also known as the Moon Festival, a three-day national holiday where many people travel and gather with family. The timing of the storm disrupted travel plans for millions of holidaymakers.
All flights at both of Shanghai’s international airports were canceled from 8 p.m. on Sunday. More than 1,400 flights were canceled at Shanghai’s airports, while an additional 180 flights were grounded in Hangzhou.
Shanghai’s ferry services were halted, train services were partially suspended, and key bridges, ports and highways were closed to ensure safety.
Many popular tourist destinations including Shanghai Disney Resort were shut down. Videos circulating on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, showed staff at the park taking precautionary measures such as taping trash bins to fences.
Over 414,000 residents in Shanghai had been evacuated to safety. Authorities set up makeshift shelters in school gyms and exhibition centers to accommodate displaced individuals.
Zhejiang and Jiangsu also implemented evacuation plans and similar safety measures. More than 60,000 emergency responders including firefighters were deployed to Shanghai to provide assistance and relief efforts.
The Typhoon Bebinca uprooted and damaged more than 10,000 trees across the city. Fallen trees and branches flooded roads and sidewalks causing blockages in some areas.
At least 380 households were left without power and four houses suffered structural damage. An elderly man on Chongming Island was injured after being struck by a falling tree and was later taken to a hospital for treatment.
The powerful winds and rain also led to the flooding of 53 hectares of farmland. This level of destruction posed a risk to agricultural production in the region.
After making landfall in Shanghai, Typhoon Bebinca gradually weakened as it moved further inland. It transitioned into a tropical storm as it made its way toward the western provinces including Jiangsu, Anhui and Zhejiang.
Weather authorities predicted that Shanghai and nearby provinces would receive up to 30 centimeters of rainfall between Monday and Wednesday.
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Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, grounded all flights. More than 570 passenger train services were also suspended, stranding thousands of travelers during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday period.
Major highways were closed at 1:00 AM local time and a 40 km/h speed limit was imposed on roads throughout the city. This reduced vehicle traffic in an attempt to mitigate accidents due to the storm’s intensity.
Ferry operations along the coast were also halted. Many resort areas including popular destinations such as the Shanghai Disney Resort, Jinjiang Amusement Park and Shanghai Wild Animal Park, temporarily closed to ensure the safety of guests and staff.
The powerful winds felled over 1,800 trees across Shanghai. Several buildings were damaged with reports of billboards being blown off and debris scattered across roads and sidewalks.
Streets were strewn with broken branches, toppled bicycles and fallen debris. Over 30,000 households were left without power due to the storm.
Emergency services worked quickly to restore electricity, but some areas experienced outages due to the extent of the damage.
Typhoon Bebinca arrived just weeks after Super Typhoon Yagi, the second most powerful tropical cyclone of the year, struck China.
Yagi’s winds reached 230 kph, a Category 4 hurricane equivalent. This typhoon resulted in the deaths of four people in China and caused devastation across Southeast Asia, claiming lives in Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.
The aftermath of Yagi left more than 230 people dead in Vietnam alone with fatalities reported in neighboring countries due to flooding and landslides.
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