580,000 evacuated, as typhoon hits land

A total of 580,000 people have been evacuated as typhoon Maria stormed into southeastern China on Wednesday, paralyzing railway and air transportation in some areas, authorities said.

The typhoon, the eighth in China this year, made landfall about 9 am on Wednesday in Lianjiang county, Fujian province, bringing gales of up to 151 kilometers per hour at its center. All those evacuated are from Fujian and neighboring Zhejiang province, according to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

Maria is the first typhoon this year to trigger a red alert from the National Meteorological Center, the highest in China's four-tier system for severe weather.