SHANGHAI - TYPHOON Wipha, potentially the most destructive storm in a decade, slammed into China's eastern coast early Wednesday packing winds of 45 metres per second, state media said.

<p>The typhoon struck south of China's financial capital Shanghai at 2.30am (2.30am Singapore time), the Xinhua news agency reported.

It hit land near Cangnan in southern Zhejiang province, some 400 kilometres south of Shanghai.

Million people have been forced to leave their homes along China's east coast, where many schools, offices, ferries and other transport links were ordered to remain closed as flood officials warned residents to prepare for the worst.

<p>Fears the typhoon would hit Shanghai, a city of 17 million people, triggered mass evacuations and disrupted the women's World Cup.

<p>Instead, the heavily populated neighbouring province of Zhejiang bore the first brunt of the typhoon, which weakened slightly before making landfall.

<p>Two million residents of Zhejiang province were evacuated and nearly 40,000 ships were ordered back to harbour on Tuesday, Xinhua said.

<p>As the storm approached on Tuesday, the head of the China Meteorological Administration, Zheng Guoguang, warned that global warming was resulting in stronger and more lethal typhoons.

<p><b>Global warming</b> <br>'Due to global warming, the number of strong typhoons is increasing and more areas are vulnerable to the attack by typhoons,' Xinhua quoted Mr Zheng as saying at a conference in Beijing.

<p>Matches at the women's World Cup have been postponed and a fixture between Norway and Ghana scheduled for Wednesday has been relocated from Shanghai to neighbouring Hangzhou, about three hours away by car.

<p>However, a Tuesday evening match between Nigeria and the United States went ahead.

<p>In China's southeast, the Fujian provincial government evacuated more than 160,000 people.

<p>State television footage on Tuesday showed huge waves hitting eastern shores while soldiers helped local residents move to temporary shelters amid pouring rains.

<p><b>Taiwan</b> <br>Taiwan authorities curbed air travel and closed its stock exchange, while offices and schools in several northern areas of the island, including the capital Taipei, were shut as many coastal residents were moved to higher ground.

<p>Wipha - a woman's name in Thai - had also led to school cancellations in Shanghai.

<p>Typhoons regularly hit China, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea towards the end of August and in September.

<p>Earlier this month Typhoon Fitow hit Japan, killing seven people, while on Sunday Typhoon Nari killed at least nine in South Korea. -- AFP, AP