Hong Kong braces for year's most powerful typhoon

A powerful typhoon hit China's southeastern coast on Sunday, bringing gales to Fujian Province and affecting local power supply.                 

Super Typhoon Usagi was monitored to be 404 kilometers southeast of Hong Kong at 08:00 Sunday, packing winds of 48 meters per second at the storm's eye. It is expected to hammer south China's Pearl River Delta some time between Sunday evening and Monday morning.                          

The surging sea waves were brought over the dam to the nearby road by the gales with a speed of up to 32 meters per second in Dongshan County. The sea water flew into a nearby low-lying ship-building plant and destroyed some facilities in the plant.                       

The gales and storms have also taken out major power lines, cutting off electricity supply to about 112,100 households in Fujian.                        

Electricians from power companies rushed to repair the damage. So far, there are still 7,300 households suffering power outage.                                

Schools in Xiamen City on the eastern coast of Fujian Province and Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, called off classes on Sunday morning. Fujian suspended shipping between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan as Usagi brought strong winds and downpours to its offshore region.           

On Sunday, major Chinese airlines canceled flights to cities in the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian as well as to Hong Kong and Macao due to the possibility that local airports would be battered by heavy rains and strong gales starting at noon on Sunday.


AP