SHANGHAI, Sept 15, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Chinese authorities prepared for heavy 
rain on Sunday as a strong typhoon approached the country's heavily populated 
eastern seaboard.

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

The ministry said in a statement on Saturday that the storm would cause 
"heavy to torrential" downpours with "local heavy or extremely heavy 
rainstorms" between Sunday and Tuesday.

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

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, state news agency Xinhua reported Saturday.

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

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

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 on Sunday.

It advised that people refrain from gathering in large numbers, boats return 
to port and rickety structures be strengthened against high winds.

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

Some flights to and from major airports in Shanghai were cancelled or 
rescheduled on Sunday because of the typhoon, state media and airlines said.

Passenger shipping lines were scheduled to be suspended in Shanghai from 
Sunday, according to an official statement on the social media account of the 
municipal port and shipping development centre.

- Trail of destruction -

China is the world's biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases that scientists 
say are driving climate change and making extreme weather more frequent and 
intense.

Another typhoon, Yagi, killed at least four and injured 95 when it passed 
through China's southern Hainan island this month, according to national 
weather authorities.

Bebinca passed through Japan's Amami island overnight, carrying gusts of up 
to 198 kilometres (123 miles) per hour, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, 
warning of an increased risk of landslides due to heavy rain.

The storm also slammed into the central and southern Philippines on Friday.

Philippine officials said on Sunday that falling trees had killed six people 
as the tropical storm brought strong winds and floods.