Shanghai braces for Typhoon Muifa

Xinhua, August 7, 2011

Shanghai on Sunday closed a second major sea bridge linking the urban area to an outlying island amid gusts packed by Typhoon Muifa which swept across the region.

The closure of the 16.63-km-long Yangtze Bridge to traffic followed a similar action that sealed the 32.5-km-long East Sea Bridge on Saturday afternoon, local traffic authorities said.

The authorities also imposed speed limits on highways and launched a thorough safety inspection of transportation infrastructure.

According to the National Meteorological Center, Typhoon Muifa, moving northward off the east China coast, is expected to land in Shandong Province to the north of Shanghai on Monday morning.

The center of the typhoon has passed the sea immediately to the east of Shanghai. Gusts brought by the typhoon tore down billboards and briefly cut off power in at least two residential areas, said Sang Baoliang, deputy head of Shanghai's flood control headquarters.

More than 310,000 people in Shanghai had been evacuated, pending the notice from the authorities for them to return home as soon as the impact of the typhoon ends.

Muifa, the ninth typhoon to hit China this year, swirled into the East China Sea around 10 p.m. Friday. High wave warnings were issued along the coastal provinces and ships were forced to moor at bay.

Maritime officials in Zhejiang Province on late Saturday reported that 35 fishing boats loaded with 300 people, who were earlier reportedly missing off the coast of Shandong, had been found at Zhejiang's coast.

The boats were hauled to the bay of Zhoushan and all the people on board were safe, the officials said.