180,000 evacuated in China as typhoon approaches

BEIJING: Over 180,000 people have been evacuated from coastal areas of south China's Guangdong province as typhoon Chanchu, packing high-velocity winds, is fast approaching.

The province had recalled 25,219 ships operating on sea by Tuesday night as a precaution against the first tropical storm of the year, the provincial disaster relief office said.

According to the latest broadcast of the provincial meteorological station, Chanchu was located at a sea area 440 km south of Shanwei City in Guangdong and it was moving north-eastward with the maximum wind speed of 45 meters per second at its centre, or 14 on the windscale.

Influenced by typhoon Chanchu, force 8 gale was reported in central Guangdong and sea areas east of the province, and force 6 to 8 gales were also reported in areas near the estuary of the Pearl River and south-eastern coastal areas of Guangdong, the provincial meteorological station said.

Typhoon Chanchu is expected to move northward at a speed of 20 km or 23 kmph in upcoming 24 hours, said Huang Zhong, a weatherman with the meteorological station of Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province.

The typhoon may land in the coastal areas between Huidong and Raoping Counties by tonight or may move toward the Taiwan Strait, passing the eastern coast of Guangdong,Huang said.

Whether the typhoon lands in Guangdong or not, it would powerfully influence the province, Huang said.