Passenger services suspended as tropical depression makes landfall in South China

HAIKOU -- A tropical depression from the South China Sea made landfall in the coastal area of the Lingshui Li autonomous county in Hainan province at 11 am Wednesday, according to local weather authorities.

Roll-on and roll-off passenger ferry services in the Qiongzhou Strait have been suspended since 3 pm Tuesday, and passenger rail services to and from the southern island province have also been stopped.

Packing winds up to 15 meters per second near its center, the tropical depression is expected to affect the eastern and southern parts of Hainan, the coastal areas of Guangdong and southwestern Guangxi, as well as the South China Sea, the Beibu Gulf and the Qiongzhou Strait, according to the provincial meteorological bureau.

It will bring up to 160 mm of precipitation and gales up to 28.4 meters per second to the above areas from 2 pm Wednesday to 2 pm Thursday, the bureau said.