Worst typhoon to hit Shanghai since 1949 makes landfall

The strongest typhoon to hit Shanghai since at least 1949 has made landfall, with nearly half a million people advised to flee from its path.

The normally bustling financial hub was brought to a standstill as residents sheltered at home to wait out the worst of Typhoon Bebinca.

Bebinca made landfall around 7.30am local time on Monday, with maximum wind speeds of 150km/h near the storm's centre.

It is the strongest storm to strike Shanghai since Typhoon Gloria in 1949.

Rain lashed the city and strong winds felled more than 10,000 trees across Shanghai as more than 400,000 people were evacuated from at-risk homes in Bebinca's path.

More than 56,000 rescue workers were deployed and, by early afternoon only one injury had been reported as a result of the storm, according to state media reports.

More than 1400 flights from the city's two airports and over 570 passenger trains have been cancelled since Sunday evening, disrupting the travel plans of many people on the move over the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, a three-day public holiday in China.

Parks and businesses were closed as four districts in Shanghai upgraded weather alerts to the highest possible level, some metro train services were disrupted and highways and elevated roads were closed to traffic or had special speed restrictions in place.

Resorts including Shanghai Disney Resort, Jinjiang Amusement Park and Shanghai Wild Animal Park have been temporarily closed and many ferries halted.

By early Monday afternoon local time, the eye of the storm had crossed from Shanghai to the neighbouring Jiangsu province, though rains were expected to continue in China's financial capital throughout the rest of the day.

Shanghai, which is home to 25 million people, is rarely hit by strong typhoons and storms, with fiercer weather patterns usually making landfall further south.

It has already been an intense monsoon season, with Typhoon Yagi hitting China's southern Hainan island earlier in September and causing devastation in southeast Asia.

In Myanmar, Yagi caused at least 74 deaths with dozens missing.

Four deaths were reported in Hainan. At least 10 have died in Thailand and 20 in the Philippines.

Vietnam has reported more than 230 people killed in the typhoon and subsequent flooding and landslides, with dozens still missing.