Authorities have evacuated more than 20,000 people and suspended railway services in the southern part of the country as approaching Typhoon Noul threatens torrential rain and gale-force winds, according to state media.
The typhoon is forecast to make landfall in the coastal area stretching from Hong Kong to Guangdong province between Saturday evening and Sunday morning, China’s National Meteorological Center said.
It maintained an orange typhoon alert yesterday, the second-highest level in its four-tier system, after warning that parts of Guangdong and neighbouring Fujian province would experience gales and torrential rain.
More than 20,000 people had been evacuated in Guangdong, state broadcaster CCTV said in a bulletin late Friday.
Fishing vessels operating at sea in the province had returned to ports to “shelter from the storm”, it added.
Guangdong suspended some train services yesterday morning, with all train services in the province halted today, CCTV said.
Schools in Guangdong’s Chaozhou city were instructed to suspend on-campus activities, according to local media reports.
Extreme weather has already wreaked havoc on southern and central China this month, with 39 people killed when Typhoon Maysak triggered devastating floods in Guangxi.
Maysak also caused thunderstorms and gale-force winds that killed 11 people and injured 331 in Hubei province. — AFP
