Nearly 60,000 evacuated in China as Typhoon Chan-hom bears down

SHANGHAI, July 10 (UPI) -- Officials in China ordered the evacuation of nearly 60,000 people Friday as Typhoon Chan-hom took aim at Shanghai, bringing with it 105 mph wind gusts and potential flooding.

As of 4 a.m. local time Saturday, the eye of the typhoon was located about 300 miles south-southeast of Shanghai and it's moving northwest about 10 mph. Cham-hom is expected to make landfall Saturday in Zhejiang province near Hangzhou Bay.

The typhoon has diminished in intensity -- top winds were down to 105 mph from highs of 110 mph -- and is expected to become weaker as it passes over land.

Still, its current intensity mean it could create a dangerous storm surge along the coast of the East China Sea with potential flooding in Shanghai and other areas of the coast.

It's unclear if Shanghai's flood wall will be able to protect the city of more than 14 million people, the Weather Underground blog reported.

It's expected that damaging winds could also create power outages and down trees, The Weather Channel reported.

After passing through China on Sunday, Typhoon Chan-hom is expected to head northeast into the Yellow Sea before heading toward the Korean peninsula.