Residents of China's eastern coast are bracing for one of the region's most powerful typhoons in years.
Typhoon Muifa, with winds up to 162 kilometers per hour, is expected to make landfall late Saturday or early Sunday (local time) near Shanghai.
Authorities in that major commercial hub say the storm could be as powerful as Typhoon Matsa, which killed four people and caused more than $15 million in damage in 2005.
More than 100 flights in the region have been cancelled as Muifa approaches, and thousands of boats have been called back to port in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces.
Authorities have also warned that high speed rail service could be halted or delayed. Emergency officials are readying relief supplies and preparing for evacuations. Typhoon Muifa lashed the Japanese island of Okinawa Friday with heavy rains and high winds.
Boys swim in a knee-high floodwaters brought about by continuous rainfall from Typhoon Muifa along a main street in Manila, Philippines August 2, 2011.
Earlier this week, the storm claimed several lives as passed through the northern and central Philippines.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
