China on high alert as super typhoon hits coast

Beijing – China Sunday issued a red alert, the highest alert in its warning system, for super typhoon ‘Haiyan’ that brought heavy rains to the island province of Hainan, South China Morning Post reported.

The China Meteorological Administration has warned that the storm, after devastating the Philippines, is moving towards the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

In Hainan’s Sanya city, more than 13,000 people were evacuated and over 400 boats called back to port as the storm brought heavy rains to the tourist resort. More than 200 flights at Hainan’s two airports, in Sanya and Haikou, were cancelled or delayed, media reports said.

Six people are feared missing at sea after the mooring rope of their vessel was cut in the storm, causing the ship to drift.

The US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Centre predicts Haiyan will make landfall in Vietnam before crossing the border into China.

Vietnam has evacuated more than 600,000 people ahead of the typhoon’s expected arrival Monday morning, authorities said.

Haiyan is the 30th and strongest typhoon to hit China this year. It arrived in the country around 6 p.m. Saturday.