Shanghai escapes wrath of typhoon

Jongdari, the second typhoon to hit Shanghai in less than two weeks, made landfall on Friday morning in the city's Jinshan district but caused no major damage.

By 12:07 pm, the city had cleared its alert for Jongdari, the 12th typhoon this year. It packed winds of up to 83 kilometers per hour near its center when it landed, and kept moving northwestward as its strength waned.

But the rainstorm it caused resulted in flooding in the Hangzhou Bay New Zone in Ningbo, Zhejiang province. Some roads had sections of more than 1 kilometer under water, while some of the sewers were blocked.

"Jongdari's path has changed many times since it formed, and has brought significant wind and rain, mainly in Jinshan and Songjiang districts, as well as the Pudong New Area," said Bai Tinghui, deputy director of Shanghai's flood control headquarters and director of Shanghai Water Bureau.

About 151,400 Shanghai residents were relocated, as the storm downed more than 500 trees and caused temporary flooding and a power blackout for about 800 households.

The city's traffic authority lowered the speed limit on a number of highways, including the East China Sea Bridge.

Hongqiao and Pudong airports in Shanghai and the railway stations resumed normal operations early Friday afternoon, though more than 145 flights and 119 high-speed train trips were canceled.

In the neighboring province of Zhejiang, more than 19,820 residents in seven cities were relocated. More than 24,000 ships, including 20,417 fishing boats, returned to port.

While the influence of Jongdari is waning, newly formed typhoon Shanshan is on its way.

It was about 2,170 km southeast of Tokyo, Japan, at 8 pm on Friday and was moving northwestward at a speed of 23 km/h, according to the National Meteorological Center.

But it is reported that it will not affect the nation for the next five days.

Xinhua contributed to this story.