Tens of millions of people in Shanghai and across China's densely populated east coast hunkered indoors Monday (September 16, 2024) as the strongest storm to hit since 1949 swept in, downing trees and disrupting transport across the region.

Typhoon Bebinca landed early Monday morning in the city's eastern coastal area, with wind speeds of up to 151 kilometres per hour (94 miles per hour), state media said.

It is the strongest storm to hit Shanghai since Typhoon Gloria in 1949, state broadcaster CCTV said shortly after Bebinca made landfall.

Many businesses were already closed for the Mid-Autumn Festival public holiday, and the city's 25 million residents have been advised to avoid leaving their homes.

Shanghai's flood control headquarters told CCTV they had already received dozens of reports of incidents related to the typhoon — mostly fallen trees and billboards.

An uprooted tree completely blocked one road in the city centre, an AFP reporter saw.

Ferocious winds

Xiong Zhuowu, a doctor and resident of the northern Baoshan district, posted a video of a real estate agent's sign being ripped away onto a roof in his compound.

"I feel quite nervous today, I'm constantly checking what the situation is out the window," Xiong told AFP.

"The property management found some trees with loose roots downstairs and immediately called me to move my car to prevent the tree hitting it if it fell."

A government livefeed from Baoshan showed ferocious winds ripping through a line of trees on the riverbank.

Despite the violent downpours and sudden gusts of wind, some were still braving the weather to go about errands.

Resident Wu Yun said she had ventured outside because she had to sort something out at her sales job.