High waters and heavy surf already were battering Qingdao's coastline as Typhoon Muifa hugged China's eastern seaboard, weakening as it approached the industrial port city. Muifa was expected to make landfall as a severe tropical storm Monday morning near Qingdao, home to 7 million people and the Chinese navy's north sea fleet.

Evacuations were ordered for 600,000 people, including in Shandong province surrounding Qingdao and points to the south. About 20,000 Shandong fishing boats were ordered into port and some were lifted out of the water for safety.

As Muifa skirted the coast, strong winds caused damage in Shanghai, and a 24-year-old swimmer went missing in heavy surf, Shanghai Television reported.

Transportation was disrupted by the storm. Hundreds of weekend flights were canceled in eastern China, and bus and train service was in disarray.