China’s Eastern Region Hit by Storm and Flooding

Shanghai city officials closed more than 60 parks and the city zoo as residents waded through flood waters after heavy rains hit the financial hub in the aftermath of Typhoon Fitow.

The Shanghai municipal government said Tuesday that the city had been hit with 152 millimeters (six inches) of rain, the highest single-day total since 1961.

Although the typhoon landed Monday in the southeastern province of Fujian, the neighboring province of Zhejiang has been hit the hardest, with the death toll now at six, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Schools have been closed, and power and transportation disrupted throughout the province.

In its capital city of Hangzhou, the water level for the scenic West Lake has risen 280 millimeters (11 inches), flooding lakeside walkways.

China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs said the typhoon forced more than 1 million residents in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces out of the homes and destroyed thousands of houses.