China evacuated nearly 400 000 people and called thousands of vessels back to port as its southern coast braced on Wednesday for an approaching tropical storm, state media and government agencies said.
Severe Tropical Storm Kammuri was heading north across the South China Sea and was expected to make landfall in south China’s Guangdong province late on Wednesday or early on Thursday, the China Meteorological Administration said.
It would then head west along the densely populated coast, according to the administration’s website.
The storm lashed Hong Kong on Wednesday, packing winds of 110km/h at its centre, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.
The ferocity prompted Chinese officials to step up the emergency response level.
Guangdong, along with neighbouring Hainan island and Guangxi’s Zhuang region, decided to evacuate 388 000 people from their homes, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.
The three areas also ordered a total of 57 800 vessels back to port, according to Xinhua.
”[We should] ensure all these people be evacuated to safe places in order to guarantee the people’s lives,” Chen Lei, the Minister of Water Resources, said in a statement on the department’s website.
Torrential rain has affected huge parts of southern and central China in recent months, taking a heavy toll in life and material damage. — Sapa-AFP