Typhoon heads for south China; tens of thousands evacuated

BEIJING – Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from coastal areas of southern China, with a strong typhoon that was moving toward the mainland today (Oct 4) already bringing powerful winds and heavy rain to the region.

Typhoon Mujigae was heading gradually toward the Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong province, just north of the resort island of Hainan, according to the National Meteorological Centre.

The center issued a red alert – China’s highest level of weather preparedness – warning that as much as 280mm of rain could fall in some places from Sunday morning to Monday morning.

Packing winds of 180km per hour at its center, Mujigae was moving northwest at about 20kph and was expected to make landfall this afternoon, the meteorological centre said. Even before it hit land, the storm was bringing rain and strong winds to the area.

The typhoon is expected to lash both Guangdong and Hainan, where thousands of Chinese have flocked during the weeklong National Day holiday.

More than 60,000 fishing boats have returned to port in the two provinces and more than 40,000 fishermen working on fish farms have moved to shelters, according to the provincial government websites.

Mujigae, meaning rainbow in Korean, is the 22nd typhoon of the year. AP