Flights halted as typhoon Muifa approaches Shanghai, northeast China coast

A typhoon was headed toward the Chinese coast on Wednesday and forecast to make landfall near the port city of Ningbo later in the day.

Typhoon Muifa had maximum sustained winds of 145 kilometres an hour as it moved northeast, the Hong Kong Observatory said.

The storm's track would take it just east of the city of Shanghai and then inland through Jiangsu and Shandong provinces on China's northeast coast.

All flights were cancelled at the Ningbo airport and more than 11,000 fishing boats returned to port in Zhejiang province, according to Chinese media reports.

A requirement for a negative coronavirus test within the last 72 hours, required in much of China to enter buildings and other public areas, was suspended in Ningbo except for at airports, train stations and highway entrances.