A typhoon ploughed into China south of Shanghai, killing at least seven people, forcing the evacuation of more than a million and driving thousands of ships to port before weakeningyesterday.

A flood control official in the coastal city of Taizhou, which suffered the full brunt of the storm from Typhoon Kanun overnight, said seven people were killed. “The rain has stopped and we can see trees on the street blown down and some areas of the city are still flooded and many houses collapsed,” said the official. At least one person was killed by a fallen power line in Taizhou, Xinhua news agency said. Typhoon Khanun, which spared Taiwan on Saturday, made landfall in China’s mountainous eastern province of Zhejiang, where storms regularly trigger deadly floods and landslides.

Yesterday, it had been downgraded to a tropical storm and was heading north towards the port of Qingdao. The storm cut power to Taizhou and nearby Wenzhou, plunging the cities into darkness, and toppled trees and signboards while leaving water a metre (three feet) deep in some areas, the China Daily said. Taizhou closed schools yesterday and bus services to both cities was suspended after regional highways were shut down. Most flights in Wenzhou were cancelled. Those evacuated by the army in Taizhou, with a population of more than 5 million, had been taken to schools, railway stations, hotels and other solid buildings for protection, a city government official said.

To the north, Shanghai shut down Hongqiao and Pudong airports, cancelling nearly 400 flights. Heavy rain fell overnight, though it had died down yesterday to leave the city humid and blustery. The country’s commercial capital closed all primary and middle schools yesterday and barred companies from penalising workers who arrived late due to the weather, state media said. The Shanghai city government issued a text message to mobile telephones late on Sunday warning residents not to go outside.