Shanghai shipping hub faces another major storm as typhoon approaches

Calm before the storm: Fishing boats are moored together at the harbour in Keelung as Typhoon Muifa approaches Taiwan. Muifa is currently loca­ted east of Taiwan before it heads to Shanghai. — AFP

Asia’s largest container shipping hub may face another major storm as Typhoon Muifa bears down on Shanghai and nearby Ningbo.

The US Joint Typhoon Warning Center projects the typhoon’s path will hit the ports on China’s east coast tomorrow.

The storm follows close on the heels of Super Typhoon Hinnamnor, which brushed past the vital shipping hub last week, temporarily closing Shanghai’s major container port of Yangshan.

Typhoon Muifa is currently located east of Taiwan, headed northward with maximum wind gusts of 193kph, according to the US warning centre.

The typhoon brought downpours and gale-force winds to islands in the southwest of Japan’s Okinawa, over the weekend, Japan’s weather agency said yesterday.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), as at 11am local time, Muifa was over waters 30km south of Ishigaki Island with maximum wind speeds of up to 216kph.

The JMA, along with warning residents in the typhoon’s path to remain vigilant for landslides and rivers breaching their banks, also said the typhoon is packing winds strong enough to damage if not topple homes.

The slow-moving typhoon, the 12th of the season, is expected to continue to bring severe weather conditions to the Sakishima Islands through tomorrow as it moves northward, the JMA said.

The government of Okinawa – a prefecture comprising Japan’s more than 150 southern islands – had earlier requested for the elderly on Ishigaki and other area islands to seek shelter before the typhoon reach the region.

“I would like to ask everyone to be vigilant against violent winds, heavy rains ... and take action to protect lives as a top priority,” Okinawa governor Denny Tamaki said on Sunday.

Last week’s storm scattered ships out of the mega-hub and the queue of vessels is still above the 50-day average as the ports recover, according to Bloomberg data.

Despite the recent severe weather, Asia has had a relatively quiet storm season.

Northwest Pacific typhoon activity this year is forecast to be 35% below normal, according to Tropical Storm Risk. — Bloomberg/Xinhua