SHANGHAI - Typhoon Prapiroon slammed into southern
China on Thursday, bringing heavy winds and rain as thousands of people were
evacuated, state media said.
Prapiroon made landfall at 7:20 p.m. (1120 GMT) in a large swath of coastal
Guangdong province, including the cities of Yangjiang and Dianbai, Sina.com said
on its Web site.
|
Two young woman's umbrella is
blew sideways as they walk through the wind on a Hong Kong
street Thursday, Aug. 3, 2006. Typhoon Prapiroon slammed into southern
China on Thursday, bringing heavy winds and rain as thousands of people
were evacuated, state media said. [AP] |
It was moving at 15 kph (9 mph) to 20 kph (12 mph) in a northwest direction,
Sina.com said.
Strong winds and heavy rains were forecast from Thursday to Saturday for
large parts of Guangdong and Hainan, China's southernmost island and a popular
tourist destination.
Authorities evacuated 406,343 people have been moved to safety in the
southern provinces of Hainan and Guangdong and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous
Region.
The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said on Thursday that
62,023 vessels from Guangdong, Hainan and Guangxi had returned to harbor as
Prapiroon was approaching faster than previously forecast.
Guangdong has suspended all passenger railway services across the Qiongzhou
Strait to the island province of Hainan.
The Guangdong Provincial Meteorological Station forecast Prapiroon would
strike the coastal area between Taishan City and Xuwen County in Guangdong from
Thursday afternoon to Friday morning, packing heavy rains and strong winds.
The autonomous region of Guangxi, west of Guangdong, is also on high alert as
Prapiroon is expected to be the first typhoon to hit the area since 2003.
Its capital, Nanning, had already suffered thunderstorms and strong winds on
Wednesday evening. More than 84,000 people in Guangxi were relocated.
Prapiroon is within 300 kilometers of the coast of western Guangdong. Its
winds are reaching 12 degrees on the Beaufort Scale near its center.
It is forecast to move westward at 15 kilometers per hour in the next 24
hours and will gain strength.
Heavy rains hit most parts of Guangdong from Wednesday and the typhoon will
bring rainstorms to western Guangdong and nearby areas from Thursday to
Saturday. The typhoon will also bring force 9-12 gales to sea areas and to
coastal areas of western Guangdong.
