Super typhoon Saola puts South China on red alert

As South China continues to get hit by typhoons one after another, China Meteorological Administration issued its latest red alert on 6:00 am Saturday.

Super typhoon Saola, the ninth typhoon of this year, made landfall in the coastal area of Jinwan district in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, at 3:30 am Saturday. Western Guangdong and Macao will experience strong gales and heavy rains on Saturday.

Affected by Saola, eastern and southern Guangdong, southeastern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, northern and western Hainan province will see heavy rain, southern Guangdong, southeastern Guangxi, Hong Kong, and Macao will experience torrential rain, and Guangdong's central coastal area will have heavy downpour.

As of 10 am Friday, more than 780,000 people in Guangdong had been evacuated from risky areas, over 80,000 fishing boats had returned to harbors for shelter, and 13 cities in the province had postponed the starting date of autumn semester for primary, middle schools and kindergartens, according to Guangdong province's flood, drought and typhoon control headquarters.

Hainan raised its maritime emergency response for typhoon to the third-highest level at 7:30 am Saturday.

Meanwhile, Severe typhoon Haikui is expected to land on the southeastern coast of Taiwan island on Sunday evening, gradually approach the southern coast of Fujian province and the eastern coast of Guangdong.

Meteorologists reminded that to brace for typhoons, people in South China should pay close attention to weather forecasts and make reasonable travel plans to ensure safety.