SHANGHAI ordered the closure of schools and parks, and trains and flights were canceled as Typhoon Chanthu headed for Shanghai and neighboring Zhejiang Province after drenching Taiwan with heavy rain yesterday.

Shanghai Meteorological Bureau’s upgraded the typhoon alert to yellow, the second-lowest of a four-level system. It also issued lightning and rain alerts.

It is the year’s 14th typhoon.

The eye of Chanthu, now categorized as a super typhoon, was about 430 kilometers from Xiangshan County in Zhejiang at 5pm yesterday. The storm is expected to make landfall in south Shanghai today evening before turning east toward South Korea and Japan.

The Shanghai flood prevention office has issued a Level-III (the second-lowest) emergency response, warning residents and relevant local departments to stay alert and prepare for all eventualities.

Those who are likely to be affected by the typhoon will be evacuated by noon today, the office said.

It has asked primary and high schools and kindergartens to suspend classes today and tomorrow to avoid the extreme weather.

All outdoor tourist attractions and amusement parks will be closed for two days, the Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism said.

People with tickets for Shanghai Disneyland can visit the theme park any other day within six months or claim a refund.

About 80 percent of today’s passenger flights are canceled.

All flights scheduled after 11am today from Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport have been canceled, while Hongqiao International Airport will halt operations from 3pm, the Shanghai Airport Authority announced last night.

The takeoff and landing capacity of the two airports will be largely reduced after midnight today.

China Southern will cancel all 154 passenger flights to the city today. The operation of the flights will be restored as soon as the weather permits, the Guangzhou-based carrier said yesterday.

Flights, trains canceled

The airline canceled 27 flights from the two airports yesterday, mainly to the northeast, north and south China regions.

The Shanghai-based Spring Airlines has canceled nearly 100 flights.

Both airlines are offering ticket refunds or a choice of new dates.

Train services in the Yangtze River Delta region will be disrupted as well between noon today to Tuesday midnight, China Railway Shanghai Group said yesterday.

Shanghai-Suzhou trains on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, Beijing-Shanghai line, Shanghai-Nanjing intercity trains, Shanghai-Taicang on the Shanghai-Suzhou-Nantong Railway, Shanghai-Hangzhou on the Shanghai-Kunming Railway are all suspended.

The Shanghai Jinshan Railway has also been discontinued.

Rail authorities will be closely watching the influence of the typhoon and make flexible arrangements, the group said.

Passengers can avail of a full refund. They are advised to apply for a refund within 30 days from the boarding date online or at the train station. They can call the service hotline 021-12306 or check the railway website 12306.cn for more information, the group said.

Shanghai traffic police have canceled all driving skill tests scheduled for today and tomorrow. Test takers can book new dates from Wednesday on the Internet.

Zhejiang Province upgraded its emergency response to Chanthu to the highest level, closing schools as well as suspending air and rail services in several cities.

Education authorities in the cities of Ningbo, Zhoushan and Taizhou have ordered the suspension of classes in kindergartens, primary and high schools, off-campus training institutions for two days.

The airport in Hangzhou will cancel all outbound flights from 11am today. The schedule of some trains running across the province today has also been adjusted.

As of noon yesterday, all fishing boats in Zhejiang, numbering more than 10,000, except those in safe waters, have returned to port. Over 4,000 people involved in mariculture have been evacuated.

In Taiwan, airline flights and train services were suspended on Saturday as the storm approached. Local media reported more than 2,000 people were evacuated from flood-prone areas of the east coast county of Hualien.

Up to 13 centimeters of rain fell yesterday in some areas, the weather department said yesterday. It said up to 20 centimeters was forecast.