Governments have urged people to avoid outdoor activities, while several top tourist attractions remain closed, including parts of Disneyland and Legoland, and several viewing platforms along the Bund in Shanghai.

Footage on state media show ground-floor businesses flooded in the former French Concession in Shanghai, an area popular with tourists, and people wading through ankle-deep waters.

Several state media outlets have reported that a nine-year-old boy from Wenling, Zhejiang is missing after being swept into the sea. Chinese officials have not reported any casualties.

Parts of Zhejiang could receive 250mm to 500mm of rain over the next few days, forecasters say.

Authorities in Hangzhou, Zhejiang’s capital city, have waived parking fees in all public spaces for drivers seeking shelter amid the strong winds and floodwaters.

Elsewhere in the province, Wenzhou authorities have relocated some 900,000 residents and opened more than 1,000 emergency shelters, while about 390,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in the city of Taizhou.

In the coastal province of Fujian, maritime authorities have suspended dozens of passenger ferry routes and halted more than 100 offshore construction projects.

The storm moved over a long distance of 6,000km before making landfall, suggesting a lifespan of more than three times that of an average typhoon, according to China’s state broadcaster CCTV.

It also has a massive circulation size and intense rainfall capacity, CCTV reported.