Mass exodus as China storm looms
Residents in vulnerable areas are moved to temporary shelters
Storm preparations
More than 1.6 million people have been evacuated from China＇s financial hub, Shanghai, and neighbouring areas as powerful Typhoon Wipha looms closer.
Experts said the storm, expected to make landfall by early Wednesday, could be the worst to hit China in a decade.
Heavy rains forced schools to shut and grounded flights, and flooding brought central Shanghai to a standstill.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange may close if "emergency measures" were necessary, state media reported.
Map of the typhoon＇s projected path
North Taiwan was earlier lashed by the edge of the typhoon. One man was reported killed and another seriously hurt when scaffolding collapsed at a building site in the capital, Taipei.
Gaining strength
China＇s National Meteorological Centre has described the storm as a "super typhoon".
Experts said that Wipha - a woman＇s name in Thai - was gaining strength as it approached and could bring up to 200mm of rain and winds of more than 200km/h (120mph).
Typhoon animated guide
In pictures: Typhoon looms
By late on Tuesday, more than 1.6 million people had been moved from their homes in Shanghai and the nearby provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang, Xinhua news agency reported.
"Wipha will hit our province head on and the areas affected would be the most economically developed and densely populated," Zhejiang provincial government said.
A meteorologist at the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau, Ding Ruoyang, said that residents in vulnerable areas or structures were being relocated.
"The evacuation includes residents who live in old and dangerous houses, workers who live in temporary construction site structures, as well as workers living near the shore."
State TV showed waves of up to 10m (36ft) pounding eastern shores, and it reported that boats and ships had been ordered to return to port and ferry services suspended.
Flood control officials in Zhejiang province urged residents to be on alert for flash flooding and landslides, as rivers and reservoirs reached warning levels.
The deadliest storm to hit the coast of China in recent years was Typhoon Winnie in 1997, which killed 236 people.
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