Pulasan was expected to make landfall near the Chinese financial hub by Friday morning. Forecasters warned of potential floods and landslides.

Packing top wind speeds of 94 mph near its eye, Bebinca is the strongest storm to hit the city in more than seven decades.

Typhoon Bebinca, the strongest typhoon to hit Shanghai since 1949, made landfall early today, prompting evacuations and cancellations of flights. Hundreds of flights were cancelled at the Shanghai airport starting from Sunday. In Hangzhou, about 170km (106miles) southwest of Shanghai, authorities were planning to cancel more than 180 flights.