400,000 flee as typhoon hits Shanghai

Typhoon muifa pounded Shanghai yesterday with high winds and heavy rain, while more than 400,000 residents along the country's east coast were moved to shelters, and tens of thousands of fishing boats recalled to port.

High waters and heavy surf were already battering Qingdao's coastline, although the typhoon weakened as it approached the industrial port city. Muifa was expected to make landfall as a severe tropical storm this morning near Qingdao, home to seven million people and the Chinese navy's northern sea fleet.

Hundreds of weekend flights have been cancelled in eastern China, and bus and train services were severely affected.