LOCAL elementary, secondary school and some university students had a day off yesterday as Typhoon Wipha was forecast to hit the city in the afternoon.

Despite less rain and weaker winds than expected, the typhoon warning was a test for the city's entire public services system, said Zeng Qun, vice director of Fudan University's social work department.

The city government announced on Tuesday evening that kindergartens, primary and secondary schools would suspend their classes for one day, but teachers still had to go to work.

About 8am yesterday, teachers at Xianghong Primary School in downtown Changning District opened the school gates as usual to wait for any children who failed to be notified and turned up as usual.

"We arranged some extracurricular activities for these students, such as reading and computer skills training, to help students spend the day," said Liu Yan, vice headmaster of the school. But no students turned up until 9am.

Shanghai Normal University, which has a new campus in suburban Fengxian District, was the only local university to suspend classes for the day.

"Many of my classmates rushed to the campus supermarket for water and food, which almost emptied the store," said Zhou Fei, one of the SNU students.

Shanghai Maritime University halted its military training for freshmen yesterday, while five universities with suburban campuses under construction stopped all building work.

Shanghai Education Commission announced yesterday that elementary and secondary schools in Nanhui District will have another day off today until the typhoon completely passes the city.

Some schools in downtown Luwan District were also prepared as spare shelters for residents evacuated from their homes nearby.

The evacuees began to leave temporary shelters last night in coastal areas such as Chongming County and Nanhui, as the meteorological authority revoked its typhoon alert.

On Chongming Island, more than 5,000 fishermen who had been evacuated to cinemas, schools or houses on higher ground started leaving for their homes near the shore.

In downtown, about 6,430 people in Xuhui District were evacuated, according to an official surnamed Ni at Xuhui District flood control office. "We are now focusing on the predicted heavy rain and strong winds today, so we dispatched officials to check residents' homes to assess their risk," Ni said.