The city was hit with a quick succession of warnings for a severe tropical storm, a tsunami, and most recently, gale-force winds.
Concerns regarding the twin threat posed by a severe tropical cyclone and a potential tsunami began to subside Thursday in Shanghai, after the former subjected the metropolis to fierce winds and torrential rain for 24 hours.
Co-May, the eighth tropical storm to strike China this year, made landfall in Shanghai Wednesday afternoon after passing through Zhoushan in Zhejiang province in the early morning, with wind speeds reaching 83 kilometers per hour.
Concerns along China’s eastern coastline escalated when tsunami alerts warned of potential waves measuring between 30 and 100 centimeters along the city’s shore following an 8.8-magnitude earthquake off Russia’s Far East coast at around noon the same day.
Daily life for the city’s 25 million residents was interrupted as the storm toppled trees, flooded streets, damaged infrastructure, and disrupted transportation. Ahead of the storm, local authorities relocated approximately 280,000 people and set up more than 1,900 emergency shelters across the city.
The Shanghai Meteorological Service issued warnings for heavy rain and winds, while the city’s Flood Control Command elevated its flood and emergency response to Level III — the third lowest of four levels — as authorities prepared for possible flooding, power outages, and infrastructure damage.
More than 400 flights were grounded, and all ferry services in the city were suspended. The storm also prompted authorities to enforce speed limits on major roads and railways to maintain public safety.
Heavy rain pour down on Nanjing Road pedestrian street in Shanghai, July 30, 2025. From The Paper
Housing and urban development authorities ordered a complete suspension of work at all 4,628 housing and municipal construction sites. More than 1,100 key construction sites in high-risk areas were cleared, with workers evacuated to safety.
By Thursday, some areas of the city had experienced as much as 160 millimeters of rain. The rainfall alert was downgraded as conditions eased, and no major accidents or casualties were reported.
However, the Shanghai Meteorological Observatory issued a gale warning Thursday morning, forecasting gusts of Force 8 (63-74 kph) and above within the next 24 hours. Authorities advised the public to take precautions, warning that the strong winds could pose risks to high-altitude operations, transportation, and agricultural facilities.
The tropical storm is expected to cause prolonged rainfall across East China, likely affecting Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, and Shandong provinces over the next two days.
Massive waves from the Qiantang River tidal bore, intensified by Typhoon Co-May, drench spectators in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, July 28, 2025. VCG
Global climate change is making typhoons and tropical cyclones in the Northwest Pacific Ocean and South China Sea less frequent but more intense, Li Yongping, a researcher at the China Meteorological Administration’s Shanghai Typhoon Institute, told local media Xinmin Evening News. This shift has led to more extreme rainfall events and put coastal cities at increased risk.
Extreme weather events — from rainstorms to heatwaves to blizzards — are becoming increasingly frequent and intense, posing growing challenges nationwide.
The Chinese government has said that it is strengthening early warning systems, enhancing emergency response, upgrading infrastructure, and implementing climate adaptation policies to better manage the rising threat of extreme weather events.
Editor: Tom Arnstein.
(Header image: Travellers walk in the rain near Shanghai Railway Station in Shanghai, July 30, 2025. Xinhua)
