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Typhoon Kong-Rey hits Taiwan as Shanghai braces for downpour
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Typhoon Kong-Rey hits Taiwan as Shanghai braces for downpour

(Bloomberg) — Typhoon Kong-Rey made landfall in Taiwan with dangerous winds, and Shanghai is bracing for the heaviest November rain since 1981 as the massive storm moves toward mainland China.

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Kong-Rey had maximum sustained winds of 51 meters per second (114 miles per hour) before crossing the east coast, according to Taiwan’s meteorological office. That’s equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane destroying trees.

Taiwan suspended trading on its $2.5 trillion stock market on Thursday due to the storm, which also caused flight cancellations, power outages and the closure of schools and offices. The typhoon drenched parts of the northern Philippines, just days after the archipelago was hit by Storm Trami.

The suspension of stock trading is the third time this year due to a storm, the first time it has happened since 2015. Krathon earlier this month and Gaemi in July caused disruptions. Neighboring Hong Kong ended its decades-long practice of closing markets during storms in late September.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the preferred chipmaker of Apple Inc. and Nvidia Corp., has activated routine typhoon alert preparation at its plants. A number of companies issued stock reports announcing delays in board and shareholder meetings and in the delivery of cash dividends.

Train services have been suspended and 229 domestic and 314 international flights canceled until 2:00 p.m. local time, according to authorities. The storm has already injured 27 people and forced the evacuation of 8,600, Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operations Center said. More than 96,000 homes are currently without electricity, data from state-owned company Taipower shows.

Powerful typhoon

Kong-Rey is a major storm, with strong or typhoon-like winds extending up to 660 kilometers from the center, according to the Philippine Meteorological Agency. That makes it wider than Hurricane Helene, which hit Florida in September, flooding cities and towns far from the coast.

The last typhoon of similar strength to directly hit Taiwan at the end of the year was Gilda, which hit in November 1967, according to the local meteorological agency. In 2007, Krosa, also of similar intensity, hit the northeastern part of the island before continuing towards mainland China.