Typhoon Saudel makes landfall; East China ports reopen as storm weakens

Ningbo steps down from top-tier Level I as terminals, yards and warehouses resume across Ningbo and Shanghai

Updated

Update: 28.08.2026

Typhoon Saudel made landfall in southern Zhejiang around midday on 28 August and weakened to a severe tropical storm, and East China ports have begun reopening. Ningbo has stepped its emergency response back down to Level II (from the top-tier Level I), while Shanghai remains at Level II. Operations are resuming across the network through Friday afternoon.

What has changed since yesterday:

Ports reopening. Waigaoqiao resumed at 12:00, Yangshan at 14:00, and Ningbo terminals at 15:00 on 28 Aug.
Yards and warehouses are back online. Ningbo and Shanghai container yards both resumed operations at 12:00; Ningbo warehouses resumed operations at 08:00 on 28 Aug.
Barge terminals are recovering. Taicang resumed at 12:00 on 28 Aug. Taizhou, Wenzhou (Zhuangyuan'ao) and Jiaxing (Zhapu & Dushan) remained suspended; Zhenjiang, Nanjing, Nantong and Changzhou stayed open throughout.
Storm weakening inland. Post-landfall winds eased to about 108 km/h and are forecast to fall further to a tropical depression by 29–30 August as the system tracks west.

Update: 27.08.2026

Disruption has spread north into the Shanghai port complex, and Ningbo is now effectively shut.

Both hubs have raised their emergency response levels again, Ningbo to Level I (the highest tier) and Shanghai to Level II, as Saudel closes on the coast for an expected landfall around midday on 28 August in southern Zhejiang.

Shanghai terminals now suspending. Yangshan halted empty-container operations at 04:00 and all operations at 06:00 on 27 Aug; Waigaoqiao suspended empty-container operations from 14:00. Both were fully operational a day earlier.
Ningbo now a full shutdown. Container yards suspended from 06:00 and warehouses from 14:00 on 27 Aug, adding to the terminal closures already in effect.
More barge terminals offline. Jiaxing (Zhapu & Dushan) and Taicang have suspended operations, joining Taizhou and Wenzhou. Zhenjiang, Nanjing, Nantong and Changzhou remain open.
Storm slightly stronger. Peak sustained winds edged up to about 162 km/h (Force 14); landfall is expected at 119–151 km/h (Force 12–14). Forecasters now flag extreme rainfall — locally over 500 mm in parts of Zhejiang — as the greater threat.
Still running: Shanghai container yards, East China trucking, and Shanghai warehouses.

Kuehne+Nagel China continues to monitor weather updates, typhoon warnings and port-prevention notices, and will issue further advisories as the situation develops.

Original article: 26.08.2026

Typhoon Saudel, the 18th named storm of the 2026 Pacific season, is closing in on the East China coast, prompting port authorities in Ningbo and Shanghai to raise emergency response levels and begin winding down selected operations ahead of an expected landfall in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces on 27–28 August.

China's National Meteorological Centre has upgraded its national typhoon warning from yellow to orange — the second-highest on its four-tier scale — after Saudel pushed into the East China Sea early Wednesday. Forecasters expect the system to come ashore along the coast between eastern Zhejiang and southeast Fujian late Thursday into Friday.

The China Meteorological Administration's 96-hour track (issued 06:00, 26 Aug) rated Saudel a strong typhoon, with peak sustained winds near 151 km/h (Force 14), easing toward 126–151 km/h at landfall before weakening to a severe tropical storm and then a tropical depression as it moves inland through 30 August.

As of 14:00 on 26 August, local authorities had adjusted their typhoon emergency response levels to level II for Ningbo and level IV for Shanghai.

Port and terminal status

According to a customer advisory issued by Kuehne+Nagel China, the operational picture across East China as of Wednesday afternoon was as follows:

Ports and terminals

Ningbo Port terminals: Empty container operations suspended from 16:00 on 26 Aug; all operations suspended from 20:00 on 26 Aug.
Shanghai (Yangshan): Fully operational.
Shanghai (Waigaoqiao): Fully operational.

Container yards, trucking and warehouses

Container yards in both Ningbo and Shanghai: fully operational.
East China trucking service: fully operational.
Warehouses in Ningbo and Shanghai: fully operational.

Barge terminals

Several inland and coastal barge terminals had already halted operations ahead of the storm, while the wider network remained open:

Taizhou: Suspended from 10:00, 26 Aug
Wenzhou (Zhuangyuan'ao): Suspended from 22:00, 25 Aug
Jiaxing (Zhapu & Dushan), Zhenjiang, Taicang, Nanjing, Nantong, Changzhou: Fully operational

Guidance to shippers

Operators and cargo owners are urged to monitor conditions closely and take precautions based on the typhoon's development, the actual condition of their containers and cargo, and any requirements issued by ports and terminals.

Where operationally feasible, shippers may wish to advance container pick-up and gate-out, or postpone deliveries into terminals, depending on local conditions.

Saudel had already swept past Japan's Okinawa and Amami islands, knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes, and triggered flight cancellations in Taiwan and Hong Kong before reaching the mainland approaches. The storm is one of several active systems tracked by Chinese forecasters this week, following the recent landfall of Typhoon Gaenari in Fujian.

Kuehne+Nagel China said it is continuing to monitor weather updates, typhoon warnings and port-prevention notices, and will issue further advisories as the situation develops.

Source: Kuehne+Nagel