A BLUE alert for typhoon was issued by the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau yesterday after Lekima, the ninth typhoon of the year, grew into a super typhoon en route to east China.

The weather authority expects Lekima to make landfall in northeast Zhejiang Province tomorrow morning. It didn’t rule out the possibility of the typhoon moving north on the sea.

Heavy rain will hit Shanghai tonight and last until Sunday morning. Level-10 gales that can uproot trees may impact the downtown areas, while in coastal areas gales will reach level 11. The city’s flood prevention authority has told all districts and government bodies to take precautions after the alert was sounded.

China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe weather, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

The Shanghai government has asked local authorities to launch emergency responses and be prepared for the extreme weather to prevent extreme incidents and reduce the losses to the least.

The government also warned related departments to intensify real-time monitoring of weather changes and issue alerts promptly by text messaging or the Internet.

Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal in Baoshan District will be closed from 2pm today until Monday midnight.

Three cruise liners scheduled to berth at the terminal over the weekend have been told to delay their arrival. They will now reach and berth on Monday. Nearly 30,000 passengers will be affected by the rescheduling.

China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines have canceled 24 flights to and from Taiwan Island today. Passengers can travel on new dates or apply for a refund, the Shanghai-based carrier said.

Air China has canceled 11 flights for Friday to and from Shanghai, Taipei, Dalian in the northeast Liaoning Province, Chengdu in the southwest Sichuan Province as well as Wenzhou in neighboring Zhejiang Province.

China Southern Airlines also canceled two flights between Pudong and Taipei today.

Also, about 16,000 people will be evacuated from suburban Jinshan District, which has prepared 50 shelter sites.

Shanghai citizens have been asked to curtail outdoor activities.

Measures will be taken to prevent the downtown areas and rural farmlands from being deluged. The city has prepared pumps and emergency teams to drain water at flood points.

The city government also urged districts to thoroughly inspect high-rise objects, such as outdoor units of air-conditioners, billboards, light boxes and the curtain walls of high-rise buildings.

There will be stricter managements of Metro stations, commercial streets, construction sites, tourism attractions, airports, harbors, ports and bus stations. The supplies of water, electricity and gas will be ensured.

The Shanghai Airport Authority said it had stabilized rooftop facilities, hanging signs, curtain-wall glasses, advertisement boards and outdoor facilities. Airlines have been asked to ensure the safety of berthing aircraft.

Sewage and rainwater pipes at Hongqiao airport, which is more vulnerable to rainstorms and typhoons, have been dredged to prevent flooding.

Dredging and cleaning machines have been readied at both airports to ensure sewage ditches remain unblocked. They have cleaned up 15,600 cubic meters of sludge ahead of the rainy season, the authority said.

Passengers are advised to check with airlines about flight information.

The Yangshan Deep-Water Port is expected to encounter the strongest typhoon since 2014 with gales to reach level 14, the Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration said. It has sent alerts to all the boats at the port and asked them to return.

As of 3pm, all the passenger boats have returned to their docks, while sewage ships, fuel boats and other smaller vessels have been evacuating to safe places.

Eleven water drainage emergency team with the city’s Chengtou Group, or the major investor, developer and operator of infrastructure facilities, have been standby to prevent deluges.

Its reservoirs, water supply plants and waste water treatment sites have been inspected. Water gates have been shut down.

Multiple high-speed train operations in the Yangtze River Delta region will be suspended tomorrow and day after, China Railway Shanghai Group said.

The Jinshan express railway will be suspended from 4pm tomorrow. After 8pm, all trains between Shanghai and Hangzhou in neighboring Zhejiang Province will be suspended.

Sales of train tickets for Sunday to Suzhou, Hangzhou and Ningbo have been stopped.

Those who have already bought tickets of the suspended trains can get a full refund from the 12306 website or app.

Officials from the Pudong New Area Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau conducted an inspection of the Disney Town and Shendi Road E. covering structure facade, outdoors shop signs and billboards, advertising facilities, air-conditioning and traffic signs to eliminate potential safety hazards.

At the west traffic hub of Shanghai International Tourism Resort, big advertisement boards and welding points were checked.

Officials also checked outdoors facilities at Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall in Huangpu District.