Trains in and out of Guangdong were also suspended until 6pm on Saturday, while the national flood defence agency raised its emergency response for prevention to its second-highest level.
“It’s going to affect our life,” said Wu Wenlai, 43, who had to close his restaurant in a Shenzhen suburb.
“My eldest son was planning to fly to Chengdu today for university and his flight has been cancelled now.”
MORE INTENSE TYPHOONS
Southern China is frequently hit in summer and autumn by typhoons that form in the warm oceans east of the Philippines and then travel west.
Climate change has increased the intensity of tropical storms, with more rain and stronger gusts leading to flash floods and coastal damage, experts say.
In Hong Kong, authorities received at least seven confirmed cases of flooding, as well as nearly 40 reports of downed trees. The city’s hospital authority reported seven people seeking medical treatment during Saola.
Businesses taped up their glass displays and windows, while high-rise buildings swayed under the whipping gusts.
In eastern Heng Fa Chuen – a coastal residential area and the site of devastation during 2018’s Typhoon Mangkhut – officers in orange vests urged storm-watchers to go home, as trees leaned sideways from the heavy gusts.
In the low-lying fishing village of Lei Yue Mun, which is prone to flooding, water seeped into shops, prompting residents to set up sandbags and board up doors.
“I hope we can save the tools needed for our business, like the fridge. We elevated them so the water wouldn’t damage the (electronics),” a restaurant operator surnamed Lee told a local TV station.
Source: CNA
