All HK flights to Shanghai canceled as typhoon bears down

Michael Shum and Agence France-Presse

All eight flights from Hong Kong departing for Shanghai after 5pm yesterday were canceled, while four flights from Shanghai to the SAR were axed as Typhoon Bebinca barreled towards Shanghai.

Flights affected include those operated by Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Spring Airlines and Juneyao Airlines.

Cathay Pacific said there were two flights canceled yesterday, with four flights canceled today, while a flight to Hangzhou will also be delayed.

Hong Kong Airlines also said one flight, HX232, was canceled yesterday, while flight HX235 scheduled for today are canceled.

High Speed Rail services between Hong Kong's West Kowloon Station and Shanghai's Hongqiao Station, train D907 and D908, are also suspended today.

The Hong Kong Observatory said Bebinca was centered about 500 kilometers east-southeast of Shanghai at noon and was forecast to move west or west-northwest at about 22 kilometers per hour across the East China Sea and edge closer to the coast of eastern China.

Chinese authorities prepared for heavy rain yesterday as the typhoon approached the heavily populated eastern seaboard.

Typhoon Bebinca was expected to make landfall along a swath of coastline including Shanghai between last night and this morning, according to Beijing's emergency management ministry.

The ministry said on Saturday that the storm would cause "heavy to torrential" downpours with "local heavy or extremely heavy rainstorms" between yesterday and tomorrow.

Officials held a meeting on Saturday to "research and deploy flood and typhoon control work in key areas."

Bebinca's expected landfall will come during the Mid-Autumn Festival, a public holiday in China.

The country's railway operator is expecting passengers to take 74 million trips during the holiday, Xinhua reported.

The emergency management ministry said officials must "pay close attention to the development of the typhoon", adding that "many people will be traveling, mobility will be high and safety risks will be prominent."

The water resources ministry on Saturday launched a level-four emergency response - the lowest in a tiered system - for flooding in Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui.

The weather office issued orange typhoon warnings - the second-highest in a four-tier system - for several districts in Shanghai and areas of nearby provinces yesterday.

Shanghai municipal authorities urged residents to "strengthen efforts to guard against harmful effects of the typhoon on high-altitude work, transportation, infrastructure and agriculture."