Typhoon Saola made landfall in southern China before dawn Saturday after nearly 900,000 people were moved to safety and parts of the coastal mainland suspended business, transport and classes. Damage appeared to be minimal, however, and some services were returning to normal by afternoon.
Meanwhile, Taiwan issued a warning Saturday for a second typhoon, Haikui, which was expected to pass over the island Sunday, before traveling onward to the central Chinese coast.
Guangdong province's meteorological bureau said the powerful storm churned into an outlying district of the city of Zhuhai. It was weakening as it moved in a southwesterly direction along the Guangdong coast at a speed of around 17 kilometers (10 miles) per hour.
On Friday, 780,000 people in Guangdong were moved away from areas at risk as did 100,000 others in neighboring Fujian province. More than 80,000 fishing vessels returned to port.
Workers stayed at home and students in various cities saw the start of their school year postponed to next week.
In recent months, China has experienced some of its heaviest rains and deadliest flooding in years in various regions, with dozens killed, including in outlying mountainous parts of the capital, Beijing..
Weather authorities in Macao warned of flooding, forecasting that water levels might reach 1.5 meters (5 feet) in low-lying areas Saturday morning. The cross-border bridge connecting Hong Kong, Macao and Zhuhai was closed at midafternoon. Macao leader Ho Iat Seng ordered a halt to casino operations.
Parts of Taiwan were already feeling the effects of Haikui's heavy rain and high winds, and dozens of domestic flights were canceled, along with air services to Hong Kong and Macao. The storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 137 kilometers (85 miles) per hour, gusting at up to 173 kilometers (107 miles) per hour, according to the island's meteorological bureau.
Despite the twin storms, China's military conducted more operations Friday night and early Saturday meant to intimidate Taiwan, a self-ruled island democracy that Beijing seeks to bring under Chinese sovereignty by force if necessary. Taiwan's Defense Ministry said it had detected six Chinese military aircraft and three naval vessels around Taiwan during the 24 hours leading up to 6 a.m. Saturday.
It said the island's armed forces were monitoring the situation and put aircraft, navy vessels and land-based missile systems on alert. However, it said there were no indications that the Chinese ships or aircraft had crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait or entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone as they often do.
Saola passed just south of Taiwan on Wednesday before turning toward mainland China, with its outer bands hitting the island’s southern cities with torrential rain. The typhoon also lashed the Philippines earlier this week, displacing tens of thousands of people in the northern part of the islands because of flooding.
(AP)
