Thousands flee to safety as typhoon hits south China
Print Edition
Tens of thousands of people were evacuated as a powerful typhoon thundered into southern China yesterday after shutting down the bustling Asian financial center of Hong Kong and sinking a cargo ship.
Packing high winds and torrential rain, Typhoon Utor forced the closure of schools, offices, shopping centers and construction sites in cities along its path across Guangdong Province.
More than 60,000 people were evacuated in the city of Maoming alone, while another 98,000 were moved to safety to the south on the island province of Hainan, where 26,000 fishing boats were also ordered to take shelter in harbors.
Flights and ferry services were suspended on the island, stranding thousands of travelers.
There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries on the mainland due to the storm, which was packing sustained gale-force winds of 150 kilometers per hour.
In Hong Kong, offices, schools and courts were shut and the stock market halted trading, bringing an eerie calm to the normally busy commercial hub.
Helicopter rescue
Helicopter search and rescue teams from Hong Kong and Guangdong rescued 21 crew members from the “Trans Summer,” a bulk carrier, after it started listing in waters southwest of Hong Kong, local broadcaster RTHK said. The ship was carrying 57,000 tons of nickel ore.
Gusts of more than 100 kilometres per hour were recorded, with lashing rain, as the Hong Kong Observatory issued a No. 8 storm warning in the early hours of yesterday — the third-highest level.
As the typhoon skirted the city about 240 kilometers to the southwest, the observatory downgraded the warning in the afternoon to No. 3, indicating strong winds.
The airport authority said almost half of the day’s flights were disrupted, with 118 cancelled and another 320 delayed.
Ferry services to outlying islands and China’s mainland were halted in the morning, stranding passengers at various terminals.
A Hong Kong government spokesman said six people were treated in hospital for storm-related injuries and there were six cases of minor flooding.
Strong winds blew down 21 trees, but otherwise the city emerged largely unscathed.
7 people dead
Utor was the world’s strongest typhoon this year before it crossed the Philippines on Monday, leaving at least seven people dead, flattening houses and causing flash floods and landslides.
Rescuers were still struggling to reach at least three isolated towns in the hardest-hit Aurora Province, where the typhoon slammed ashore.
Almost 42,000 people were still homeless in the Philippines after Utor toppled light structures, ripped the roofs off homes and buildings, and inundated farms. Some towns were cut off by landslides or fallen trees.
Utor made landfall near Yangjiang in Guangdong Province yesterday afternoon, bringing heavy rains and strong gales, local weather authorities said.
The typhoon is weakening as it moves northwest at a speed of around 20 kilometers per hour. It was moving into the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region last night and is expected to linger there for about four days.
The heavy rains are forecast to last till tomorrow in most parts of Guangdong.
The meteorological agency has urged local authorities and residents to guard against flooding, landslides and mudlflows during the torrential rain expected over the next few days.
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