SHANGHAI maritime authorities called in all ships and ferries from the mouth of the Yangtze River yesterday as sea, road and air transport authorities prepared for the arrival of Typhoon Wipha.

More than 500 passenger and container vessels had been ordered in from the sea to anchor in safe harbor at the Yangshan Deep-Water Port, which was in the path of the storm, according to Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration.

The port's traffic center issued a typhoon warning, and patrol vessels were on standby to alert any ships that remained in dangerous waters.

The city's maritime authority also required operators of ships anchoring inside the harbor to increase their stabilization cables against the expected onslaught of high winds and heavy waves.

Ferry routes between the downtown and Chongming Island, located at the mouth of the Yangtze River, stopped early yesterday afternoon while ferry service between the city and neighboring Zhejiang Province was shut down on Monday evening.

Ferry operators said services were running normally across the Huangpu River in the downtown area yesterday afternoon. Ferry runs will suspend, however, if the storm hits the city as strongly as forecast, said officials with Shanghai Ferry Co Ltd.

Forty-three arrivals at Hongqiao International Airport were canceled or delayed yesterday afternoon and evening, including two flights from Beijing.

Nineteen departures were canceled or delayed.

Twenty-eight flights were delayed at Pudong International Airport late yesterday evening.

The regional air traffic administration said it would update air carriers and the two local airports every 30 minutes about weather conditions and advise on whether to postpone or cancel flights.

The local airport authority prepared extra buses yesterday afternoon to take delayed passengers to the hotels as needed.

A team of 500 workers started round-the-clock operations at four Metro bases across town on Monday evening to respond to storm-related problems in the subway system.

Anti-flooding bags and anti-wind boards were transported to Metro platforms to help protect the stations from storm damage.

Metro drivers were required to pay extra attention when moving along elevated tracks as well as on stretches where the overhead and underground routes meet.

They were told to slow or stop their trains on elevated routes if the wind becomes too strong. They were also told to remain alert when driving trains into underground passages from above ground because debris could be blown onto the tracks.

On Shanghai's streets, the urban transport administration had 256 fuel-powered buses on the standby to replace electricity-powered buses on 15 routes across the city starting early yesterday. Electric buses must be pulled from operation when streets are flooded.

As of yesterday afternoon, the rain didn't cause flooding serious enough to require replacement of the electric buses, according to transport officials.

Transit bus companies across the city were each required to have 10 to 20 buses on standby to respond to orders by the transport authority to help in possible emergency situations.

SHANGHAI'S weather is typically influenced by one or two typhoons a year during a storm season that usually runs from July to September.

The worst storm to hit the city in the past 50 years killed nine people and injured 100 when it struck on August 2, 1956. Until Wipha, the city has been relatively unfazed by Pacific Ocean cyclones this year, experiencing only some rain and wind from the outer reaches of Sepat in August.

Typhoons affecting the city since 2000:

September 2000, Saomai:

Pushed the water level in the Huangpu River to 4.82 meters, the second-highest mark on record.

July 2004, Mindulle:

Flooded more than 3,100 hectares of suburban fields, causing more than 11 million yuan (US$1.4 million) in losses.

August 2004, Rananim:

Flooded more than 220 hectares of suburban land, leaving losses of 2.4 million yuan.

August 2005, Matsa:

The most serious typhoon to hit the city during the past 10 years. Three people were killed, and losses totaled 100 million yuan.

September 2005, Khanun:

More than 400 flights were canceled due to heavy rains.

(Source: www.shanghai.gov.cn )