BEIJING, China (CBS) -- A major typhoon blasted Shanghai, China with heavy rain and strong winds this morning, forcing the evacuation of nearly two million people. The typhoon is the third big storm to hit china in less than a week.
As the typhoon with its 70 mile an hour winds slammed into one of the most populous parts of China, a local news reporter tried to stay but the wind is too heavy, she finally said.
And across the rest of the area, most joined the desperate rush to run, as nearly two-million people fled inland.
Said this evacuee, "It's much safer here. It's dangerous at our house."
Shanghai was isolated for most of the day. No ships allowed in or out, its two major airports shut down, and local businesses ordered to close. But not all commerce stopped, the Shanghai stock market kept running and actually ended the day slightly up.
This has been a week of life and death rescues as three typhoons roared across Asia. In Manila and surrounding areas, 12 days of rain paralyzed the city and chased more than 700,000 people out of their homes. Water in some places was 10 feet deep, all this made worse when reservoirs and rivers overflowed.
Hard bit countries across this region are only now assessing the damage. Early estimates are $1 billion and counting.