A pump station starts emergency discharging to prevent flooding in Jintang Island of Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province, July 25, 2021. China's national observatory on Sunday continued its orange alert for Typhoon In-Fa, which made landfall in Zhejiang at around Sunday noon.(Photo: Xinhua)

Multiple online service platforms including travel booking platforms, food delivery platforms, and grocery vendors have implemented measures in response after Typhoon In-Fa lands in East China, which is the country's strongest typhoon so far in 2021, according to media reports.

In-Fa made a second landfall along the coast of Pinghu, Jiaxing in East China's Zhejiang Province around 9:50 am Monday, brining winds of up to 28 meters per second near its center, according to the National Meteorological Center.

Several online travel agencies such as Trip, ly.com, and Qunar have immediately implemented emergency plans in order to deal with the potential impact caused by the heavy rain, CCTV reported on Sunday.

Consumers are now able to cancel or alter bookings for hotels in Shanghai and Zhejiang Province on these platforms from Friday to Monday without being charged for service fees, with each platform having applied detailed measures differently.

Food delivery platforms including the industry giants Eleme and Meituan have announced on their official Sina Weibo accounts that the food delivery services have been suspended in some areas and the service ranges have been adjusted.

Meituan has already suspended all services in Zhejiang's Zhoushan and most services in Ningbo on Sunday, and services in several districts in Shanghai including Pudong New Area, Jinshan, Fengxian, and Baoshan districts have been stopped, business outlet ce.cn reported on Monday. Eleme has also paused services in Shanghai, Zhoushan and Ningbo.

Both platforms stated that orders arriving late as a result of the weather will not affect the delivery staff's assessment.

Dingdong Maicai, a Shanghai-based online fresh produce and grocery vendor, has also suspended delivery services in areas severely affected by the typhoon, said the official Weibo account on Sunday.  

Typhoon In-Fa landed on the coast of Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province on Sunday, as cities in East China are well-prepared for the storm with flights were canceled, trains suspended and people evacuated on a large scale after lessons learned from the flood disaster in Central China's Henan Province.

Global Times