Eastern Chinese regions are bracing for Typhoon Bebinca, which is approaching the country's heavily-populated seaboard and is forecast to make landfall as early as late Sunday, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) announced.
Typhoon Bebinca is tracking northwestward at 20-25 kilometers per hour across the East China Sea while picking up intensity in the process. It is forecast to make landfall sometime between late Sunday and Monday morning along the coast from Taizhou in Zhejiang to Qidong in Jiangsu, packing heavy downpours and powerful winds, according to the CMA.
Between Sunday evening and Monday morning, heavy rains are expected to lash the eastern and northern parts of Zhejiang, and secondary disasters such as flooding, landslides and mudflow are likely to impact many urban areas.
The Ministry of Water Resources on Saturday issued a Level-IV emergency response, the lowest in China's four-tier alert system, of flooding in Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui.
The ministry highlighted the prevention of floods in small and medium-sized rivers and mountain torrents in the affected areas to safeguard people's lives and property.
Bebinca's expected landfall comes during the Mid-Autumn Festival, a public holiday in China which runs from Sunday to Tuesday this year, during which numerous people will be traveling.
All the eastern Chinese regions forecast to be in Bebinca's path have recalled ships to port and are monitoring risks of flash floods and geological disasters.
Popular tourist attractions along the coast in Zhejiang's Haining City and Shanghai have boarded up their doors and made necessary reinforcements to their facilities.
East China steps up safeguard measures as Typhoon Bebinca approaches
