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Typhoon Koppu lands in S China's Guangdong

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-15 11:25

Relief staff help evacuate coastal residents as typhoon Koppu approaches, in Zhongshan city, south China's Guangdong province Monday September 14, 2009. [Xinhua]

GUANGZHOU: Typhoon Koppu staged a landing Tuesday morning on the coast of southern China's Guangdong Province, bringing about gales and rainstorm with a top precipitation at 148.5 mm in the province.

The typhoon, the 15th this year, landed at around 7:00 a.m. at Beidou town of Taishan city, packing up winds of 126 km/hour at its eye, according to the provincial meteorological bureau.

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The bureau forecast the Koppu would continue to move northwestward, pass through Yangjiang and Maoming of Guangdong on Tuesday daytime, and enter Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in the evening. The rainstorm would weaken Wednesday throughout Guangdong, the bureau added.

To counteract the typhoon effect, primary and middle schools in Shenzhen of Guangdong will suspend classes Tuesday.

Earlier report said more than 26,000 boats had been told to return to harbor and 110 offshore oilfield workers were evacuated Monday in southernmost China's Hainan Province in anticipation of Koppu's arrival.

Shipping services across the southern Qiongzhou Strait has been suspended since Monday afternoon because of the threat of the tropical storm, according to the provincial maritime affairs bureau of Hainan.

In Yangjiang city of Guangdong, 1,140 fishing boats have returned to harbor.

In Fujian, the provincial observatory has warned of gales and heavy rainfall from Monday to Tuesday in the coastal cities of Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou and Longyan.