Thousands flee typhoon

BEIJING: A strong typhoon roared into southern China yesterday, bringing powerful winds and heavy rain to the region after leaving more than a dozen fishermen missing in the Philippines.

Tens of thousands of people in southern China were evacuated before Typhoon Mujigae made landfall near Zhanjiang in Guangdong province, according to the National Meteorological Centre. The centre had already issued a red alert — China’s highest level of weather preparedness — warning that as much as 280mm of rain could fall in some places.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the storm. Packing winds of 180kph at its centre, Mujigae was moving northwest at about 20kph, the meteorological centre said.

The typhoon is expected to lash both Guangdong and the resort island province of Hainan, where thousands have flocked during the National Day holiday. It is expected to weaken as it heads further inland over the next two days.

Scores of flights in and out of Hainan’s main airport in the provincial capital of Haikou have been cancelled and highspeed rail service between Haikou and the tourist centre of Sanya was suspended over the weekend. More than 60,000 fishing boats returned to port in the two provinces and more than 40,000 fishermen working on fish farms moved to shelters, according to the provincial government websites.

Mujigae blew out of the Philippines on Saturday, causing floods and a few landslides and leaving more than a dozen fishermen missing, said regional Office of Civil Defence spokesman Mike Sabado.