Officials Blame One Death on Typhoon Wipha

Chinese officials blamed Typhoon Wipha for at least one death Tuesday as Shanghai braced for the storm to hit with gale-force winds and torrential rain.

Police reported a man died Tuesday when he stepped in water electrified by a light box, Shanghai Daily reported.

The city has been placed on full alert for the typhoon, with about 291,000 people evacuated from low-lying areas, the newspaper reported. In addition, sea vessels were returned to port, while flights were either delayed or canceled at both Hongqiao and Pudong international airports.

More than 2 million people in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces also were evacuated as the typhoon bore down on the China coast.

The Fujian Meteorological Bureau downgraded Wipha from a super typhoon to a severe typhoon, the newspaper reported. It was expected to make landfall between Xiapu in Fujian and Wenzhou in Zhejiang, the bureau said.

Two World Cup soccer matches were moved from Shanghai and rescheduled because of Typhoon Wipha. A game between Norway and Ghana in Group C was rescheduled for Thursday in Hangzhou, as has a match between Brazil and Denmark in Group D.