Thousands evacuated and flights grounded as Typhoon Champi hits eastern China

BREAKING: Typhoon Champi batters eastern China, with tens of thousands evacuated and more than 100 flights grounded as the storm weakens on its path towards Japan.

Typhoon Champi is battering eastern China right now, and tens of thousands of people have been moved out of its path.

The storm pushed toward Shanghai and other major coastal cities on Saturday, and authorities relocated residents along the coastline as a precaution. More than a hundred flights were grounded. China Eastern alone cancelled 39 domestic flights in and out of Shanghai's two main airports, and services through Fuzhou and Wenzhou were hit as well.

Fishing fleets were ordered back to harbour, and you can see them here, dozens of vessels packed into port, riding it out. Fujian and Zhejiang provinces took the brunt alongside Shanghai.

The one piece of better news is that Champi is weakening as it moves on. Its next stop is Japan, and forecasters there are already watching its track. For now, eastern China waits for the winds to pass and the airports to reopen.

This is Liu Yang, reporting for HIT.