China evacuates more than 340,000 as Typhoon Noul nears Guangdong

Authorities in southern China evacuated more than 340,000 people, suspended work and transport, and issued high-level weather warnings as Typhoon Noul approached Guangdong province.

China's National Meteorological Center said the typhoon was forecast to make landfall early Sunday along the coast between Shenzhen and Haifeng. It issued a red typhoon alert on Saturday night, the highest level in its four-tier system. The forecaster said parts of Guangdong and the neighbouring provinces of Hunan, Fujian and Jiangxi were expected to receive heavy rain from Saturday night to Sunday night. At landfall, the typhoon was forecast to have maximum sustained winds of 151 to 173 kilometres per hour.

Xinhua news agency said more than 340,000 people had been evacuated in Guangdong. It said 12 cities in the province, including Guangzhou, Dongguan and Shantou, had fully or partly suspended classes, work, production, business operations and transport. State broadcaster CCTV said all train services in Guangdong would be halted on Sunday.

Hong Kong issued its third-highest typhoon warning on Saturday night and opened 28 temporary shelters. The Hong Kong Observatory said it would consider raising the warning to the second-highest level early Sunday and said local winds would strengthen significantly overnight.

Hong Kong's airport authority said at least 49 flights had been cancelled and 238 delayed, and said many flights were expected to be affected on Sunday. Cathay Pacific said it had cancelled all flights scheduled to arrive at or depart from Hong Kong International Airport between 1:15 am and 6:00 pm local time Sunday. It said a small number of other flights would be delayed as it prepared to resume flying after the typhoon passed.

Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport said airlines would adjust flight schedules from Sunday morning to around midday depending on weather conditions. CCTV, citing meteorologists, said Typhoon Noul posed a high disaster risk because of deep inland penetration, long duration, heavy rainfall, complex terrain along its path and the potential for accumulated impacts.

Xinhua said Guangdong raised its flood and typhoon emergency response to the third level in a four-tier system on Saturday afternoon. It also said level-four flood emergency responses were activated for Jiangxi and Hunan.

The report said southern and central China had already been hit by extreme weather this month. It said Typhoon Maysak triggered floods in Guangxi that killed 39 people, and also caused thunderstorms and gale-force winds that killed 11 people and injured 331 in Hubei. The report also said scientists warn that the intensity and frequency of global extreme weather events will increase as the planet heats because of fossil fuel emissions.