Typhoon hits China after killing 36 in Philippines
STORMY DAYS 2.4 mn people relocated in Guangdong, Macau closes casinos HONGKONG:
Typhoon Mangkhut barreled into southern China on Sunday after lashing the northern Philippines with strong winds and heavy rain that left at least 36 people dead and dozens more feared buried in a landslide.
More than 2.4 million people had been relocated in southern China’s Guangdong province to flee the massive typhoon and nearly 50,000 fishing boats were called back to port, state media reported. The gambling enclave of Macau closed casinos for the first time and the Hong Kong Observatory warned people to stay away from the Victoria Harbour landmark, where storm surges battered the sandbag-reinforced waterfront.
Mangkhut made landfall in the Guangdong city of Taishan at 5 pm, packing wind speeds of 162 km per hour. State broadcaster CGTN reported that surging waves flooded a seaside hotel in the city of Shenzhen.
Groceries flew off the shelves of supermarkets in the provincial capital of Guangzhou as residents stocked up in preparation for being confined at home by the typhoon, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said.
Authorities in southern China had issued a red alert, the most severe warning, as the national meteorological center said the densely populated region would face a “severe test caused by wind and rain” and urged officials to prepare for possible disasters. Hundreds of flights were cancelled.