China's National Meteorological Center (NMC) issued a red alert for Typhoon Bebinca at 18:00 on Sunday, warning of strong winds and heavy rainfall in the country's eastern regions.
Typhoon Bebinca, the 13th typhoon of the year, is forecast to make landfall along the coast from Zhoushan City in Zhejiang Province to Qidong City in Jiangsu Province on Monday morning.
The center reported a high probability of the typhoon making landfall as a severe storm in coastal areas from Pinghu City in Zhejiang to Shanghai's Pudong New Area.
Sanjiangkou in Ningbo City of Zhejiang is located at the confluence of three rivers -- the Yongjiang, Fenghua, and Yaojiang -- and serves as the core urban area of Ningbo.
Due to the impact of Typhoon Bebinca, river water levels are higher than usual. By Sunday night, the water level at Sanjiangkou is forecast to reach its highest point this year. Consequently, over 50 kilometers of flood barriers have been erected along the riverbanks.
Meanwhile, river ships have promptly implemented sailing suspensions ahead of the typhoon. All 27 major passenger ferry routes in Ningbo have been suspended.
According to predictions, Typhoon Bebinca could become the strongest typhoon to hit Shanghai in decades.
A seaside hotel at Nanhuizui Sea View Park, the easternmost point of Pudong, has ceased operations, and all personnel have been evacuated.
Additionally, construction sites in the Lingang New Area in southeast Shanghai have suspended work, and all staff have been evacuated as well.
Due to the impact of the typhoon, the operational capacity of both Pudong and Hongqiao International Airports in Shanghai decreased on Sunday. After 20:00, all flights at both airports were canceled.
The scenic spots on Chongming Island in Shanghai have also closed as a precautionary measure due to the typhoon.
China issues red alert for Typhoon Bebinca
Chinese stocks closed mixed on Monday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.47 percent to reach 4,182.59 points due to gains from energy stocks as Israel and the U.S. continue strikes on Iran, according to Timothy Pope, a market analyst for China Global Television Network (CGTN).
Oil prices have surged as the conflict has started to widen, which helped to push up shares in Chinese oil refiners, said Pope.
"Naturally today the markets are consumed with ongoing fallout from Ayatollah Khamenei's death and the continuing strikes against Iran by Israel and the US, and retaliatory strikes by Iran and various targets around the region. This has shaken the markets, just as it's shaken the world. The Shanghai Composite Index was one of the few regional indices rising today -- adding half of one percent thanks to gains from energy stocks. Oil prices have surged as the conflict has started to widen, and that's helped to push up shares in Chinese oil refiners," Pope said
"But the picture is a little more nuanced for China, which processes some oil extracted in Iran. The quantities have fallen sharply in recent years, and most of that oil is bought at a steep discount and goes to small independent refiners -- not the ones listed on the stock market -- so it's not going to be the big state giants which take the hit. But at the same time, the government is promoting consolidation among these independent refiners -- the so-called teapot refineries. So if they do have to scale back and merge and so forth as a result of supply issues here, I don't think you're going to see many tears shed at an official level," said the analyst.
"There are a lot of layers to this one for China's energy market and the global energy market, but for the moment, I'll get back to today's stocks. Gold stocks were also back up. We saw an index tracking them was up almost 7 percent today - this, arguably, predictable as investors chased safe haven assets. Airlines were down as well, the Middle East being a major international travel hub. We are already seeing flight disruptions and airport disruptions there. And of course, airliners are very heavily fuel dependent. Oil price goes up, so does the price of jet fuel," he said.
The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.2 percent lower at 14,465.79 points on Monday, while the ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, lost 0.49 percent on Monday to close at 3,294.16 points.
Shanghai Composite Index up 0.47 percent amid Middle East Turmoil: analyst
