China's southeastern coast began evacuation preparations and shutdowns on Wednesday as Super Typhoon Champi, the world's strongest storm of the year, moved towards waters east of Taiwan, the South China Morning Post reported, in reporting carried by Malay Mail. Authorities in Zhejiang province have begun preparing to evacuate vulnerable residents, including elderly people, pregnant women and those with disabilities, while suspending 36 passenger ferry routes and halting work on 223 marine construction projects, the SCMP reported. Coastal tourist attractions are also being closed, with workers at offshore construction sites and fish farms ordered to evacuate, it said.

In neighbouring Fujian province, fishing vessels have been instructed to return to port by Wednesday, with crews required to be ashore by Thursday, the SCMP reported. Champi was packing winds of up to 245 km/h and moving northwest at about 20 km/h, according to China's National Meteorological Centre, cited in the same reporting. Forecasters had earlier warned the storm could strike Taiwan's eastern coast around Saturday before crossing the island and making a second landfall in Fujian, but an updated forecast indicated Champi could instead turn northeast near Taiwan, brushing its northeastern coast before heading towards waters south-west of Japan — leaving Zhejiang, Fujian and Shanghai facing heavy rain and powerful winds despite the uncertainty.

The preparations widen a storm emergency already under way across the region. The Watchers, citing the Joint Typhoon Warning Center and Taiwan's Central Weather Administration, reported Champi was the strongest tropical cyclone of 2026, placed by Taiwan's CWA near 18.7N, 128.9E on Wednesday afternoon with a central pressure of 900 hPa and maximum sustained winds of 209 km/h, with a Taiwan sea warning possible late Wednesday or early Thursday. In Japan, Stars and Stripes reported via Alo Japan that Champi is forcing US and Japanese commanders to scale back or cancel portions of the Keen Sword exercise involving about 56,000 personnel, with the storm about 600 miles southeast of Kadena Air Base at noon Wednesday and maximum sustained winds of about 178 mph, according to the JTWC. Sources: South China Morning Post via Malay Mail / Bangsar (Oct 21, 2026); The Watchers citing JTWC, Taiwan CWA and KMA (Oct 21, 2026); Stars and Stripes via Alo Japan (Oct 21, 2026); Zoom Earth / JTWC tracker (Oct 21, 2026).