China has issued a red alert as a super typhoon expected to be the strongest it has felt in years approached its mainland.
Typhoon Lekima was approaching Zhejiang province on the East Asian country’s eastern coast when the warning came into force.
The storm has already sparked flight cancellations in Taiwan, where businesses and schools have been shut down.
The National Meteorological Centre said the typhoon, the strongest since 2014, was expected to hit the mainland on Saturday.
It issued gale warnings for the Yangtze river delta region, which includes Shanghai, early on Friday.
Power to almost 40,000 homes in Taiwan has been cut as the typhoon heads north-west.
Authorities issued landslide warnings after an earthquake of magnitude 6 struck its northeastern coast on Thursday.
The storm was forecast to bring rainfall of up to 900mm (35 inches) in its northern mountains.
More than 300 flights to and from Taiwan have been cancelled and cruise liners have been asked to delay their arrival in Shanghai.
Some trains from Shanghai have also suspended ticket sales over the weekend.
Beijing said it would also cancel several trains heading to and from typhoon-hit eastern regions in the Yangtze delta region.
Heavy rain and level-10 gales are expected to hit Shanghai on Friday and continue until Sunday.
Some 16,000 suburban residents set to be evacuated, the official Shanghai Daily reported.
The NMC warned that 24-hour rainfall levels across eastern China could reach around 250-320 millimetres from Friday to Saturday.
Port authorities have been ordered to take action, with ships set to be diverted to Hong Kong to help prevent accidents and collisions.
China is routinely hit by typhoons in its hot summer months but officials said they have been relatively infrequent so far this year.
Agencies contributed to this report
