Typhoon Kalmaegi swipes western Guangdong, Hainan, Hong Kong gets off lightly
Hong Kong gets off relatively lightly, with squally rains and cancelled flights
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 17 September, 2014, 4:20am
UPDATED : Wednesday, 17 September, 2014, 4:20am
Staff Reporters
Pedestrians brave the rains as Typhoon Kalmaegi passes south of Hong Kong. Photo: Sam Tsang
Typhoon Kalmaegi slammed into southern China yesterday, causing floods and power failures and bringing regional air traffic to a standstill.
After touching down in Wengtian township, Wenchang , in Hainan yesterday morning, Kalmaegi battered the Guangdong shoreline before heading inland to parts of Guangxi and Yunnan provinces.
Huge waves are seen on the seashore. Photo: Xinhua
According to the China News Service, more than 20,000 residents from Wengtian and 530,000 throughout southern China were evacuated. More than 80,000 fishing boats were also called back to harbour.
Kalmaegi hit Guangdong just two months after Typhoon Rammasun touched down in the same area, killing 62 people.
Residents hold an umbrella as they walk on a street in front of fallen tree branches. Photo: Reuters
Chen Xiaowang, a 52-year-old fisherman from Wengtian, said he and his family went to a shelter but headed back home after Kalmaegi touched down in the morning.
"It's not as intense as Rammasun but trees were toppled. Thankfully our houses and live fish stocks are still intact. The power supply was cut but should be back tomorrow," Chen said.
Decoration display blow over by strong winds brought by Typhoon Kalmaegi outside Tsim Sha Tsui Cultural Centre on September 16, 2014. Photo: Sam Tsang
In the Hainan provincial capital, Haikou , more than 60,000 households were affected by power and water supply cuts, and parts of the city were under water. The typhoon also hit port cities in western Guangdong, including Zhanjiang .
Hundreds of flights to and from Zhuhai , Zhanjiang, Guangzhou, Haikou, Sanya , Beihai and Nanning in Guangxi were cancelled.
Hong Kong's Airport Authority said that by 5pm yesterday, 148 flights had been delayed and 64 cancelled because of the storm.
Kalmaegi was moving northwest at 30km/h, with strong winds and heavy rainfall continuing to affect parts of Guangdong, Hainan and Yunnan.
Trading was suspended on Hong Kong's stock exchange for the morning session.
A woman braves the strong wind as T8 is issued for Typhoon Kalmaegi. Photo: AP
The No 8 signal was lowered shortly before 11am.
The Government Flying Service was called out to rescue 14 sailors from a mainland cargo vessel 20km southwest of Macau at the request of the Guangdong Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre.
The vessel's captain decided to abandon ship because it was taking in water and in danger of sinking, according to the service.
It said the ship was battered by 10-metre waves and winds of 100km/h.
Kalmaegi first struck the Philippines, which is hit by about 20 storms or typhoons each year. Typhoon Rammasun killed 98 people and left five others missing in provinces around Manila in July.
Timmy Sung, Chris Luo, Mimi Lau, Keira Lu Huang and Clifford Lo
