Shipping suspended by tropical storm Rumbia

HAIKOU - Shipping services on the Qiongzhou Strait, a waterway that connects China's Hainan and Guangdong provinces, were suspended Monday due to the arrival of strong tropical storm Rumbia.

Rumbia strengthened from a tropical storm to a strong tropical storm at 10 a.m., leading local authorities to ask boats to return to harbor, according to the command center of the marine affairs bureau of Haikou, capital of Hainan.

Thirteen inbound or outbound flights were canceled at the Haikou Meilan International Airport as of 3 p.m. due to the storm, according to the airport.

The Guangdong railway bureau said train services on the Donghuan high-speed railway in coastal Hainan have suspended, adding that 20 trains that have already departed from or are due to arrive in Hainan have been forced to make route changes.

Packing winds of 90 km per hour, the storm is moving northwest at a speed of 25 to 30 km per hour and is expected to land near Guangdong's city of Zhanjiang or Hainan's city of Wenchang late Monday, according to the Hainan provincial weather forecast station.