Typhoon Wipha pummels Guangdong province
Typhoon Wipha wreaked havoc in major cities in the Pearl River Delta and on Guangdong province's western coast, forcing about 670,000 residents to be evacuated to safety when it battered the southern province on Sunday.
Wipha made landfall in Taishan, Guangdong, at 5:50 pm on Sunday, bringing gale-force winds with a speed of more than 118 kilometers per hour. After landing, Wipha weakened from typhoon level to a severe tropical storm.
Wipha made a second landfall on Yangjiang's Hailing island at 8:15 pm, accompanied by winds of 90 km/h.
The raging storms and strong gales that accompanied Wipha paralyzed traffic in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and major cities in Guangdong, known as the southern gateway of the country, authorities said on Sunday.
Airports in Shenzhen, Zhuhai and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region saw large-scale flight cancellations and delays since Saturday afternoon, airport authorities said.
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link — the two major transportation channels that cross the estuary of the Pearl River, linking eastern city clusters to those in western Guangdong — were temporarily closed early Sunday morning to ensure the safety of the two mega structures' operation.
Due to the extreme weather, railway authorities also suspended on Sunday the operation of the intercity services between Guangzhou and Shenzhen and between Guangzhou and Zhuhai, as well as some high-speed train services linking Guangdong's typhoon-hit cities.
The Huangmaohai cross-sea bridge in Jiangmen was also temporarily closed on Sunday.
The Qiongzhou Strait between Guangdong and Hainan provinces, for which shipping services were suspended on Sunday morning, may face suspension of such operations until Tuesday.
In Hong Kong, the Hospital Authority said that 33 people had been treated for storm-related injuries by 7:40 pm on Sunday, while 277 people reportedly sought shelter at 34 temporary shelters opened across the city. There were more than 700 reports of fallen trees by 8 pm.
Authorities forecast that Haikou, the capital of Hainan province, could experience severe waterlogging, while Guangdong was bracing for strong thunderstorms, gales and tidal waves on Monday, authorities said.
