Typhoon Mujigae makes landfall as it roars into south China

• OCTOBER 4

Taking cover ... Ships berth at Xingang harbour in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province as typhoon Mujigae makes landfall. Picture: Zhao Yingquan/Xinhua News Agency via AP

A STRONG typhoon roared into southern China bringing powerful winds and heavy rain to the region after leaving more than a dozen fishermen missing in the Philippines.

Tens of thousands of people in southern China were evacuated before Typhoon Mujigae made landfall near the city of Zhanjiang in Guangdong province just after 2pm, according to the National Meteorological Center.

The centre had already issued a red alert — China’s highest level of weather preparedness — warning that as much as 280 millimetres (11 inches) of rain could fall in some places from Sunday morning to Monday morning.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the storm.

Packing winds of 180 kilometres (112 miles) per hour at its centre, Mujigae was moving northwest at about 20kph (12mph), the meteorological centre said.

The typhoon is expected to lash both Guangdong and the resort island province of Hainan, where thousands of Chinese have flocked during the weeklong National Day holiday that runs through to Wednesday. It is expected to weaken as it heads further inland over the next two days.

Scores of flights in and out of Hainan’s main airport in the provincial capital of Haikou have been cancelled, and high-speed rail service between Haikou and the tourist centre of Sanya was suspended.

More than 60,000 fishing boats returned to port in the two provinces and more than 40,000 fishermen working on fish farms moved to shelters, according to the provincial government websites.

Mujigae blew out of the northern Philippines early on Saturday, causing floods and a few landslides and leaving more than a dozen fishermen missing, said regional Office of Civil Defense spokesman Mike Sabado.

More than 150 fishermen had been reported missing at the height of the storm, mostly from the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union, but most sailed back home after taking shelter or were rescued at sea. Thirty fishermen remained unaccounted for on Sunday, Sabado said.

Mujigae, meaning rainbow in Korean, is the 22nd typhoon of the year overall.