Flights Cancelled As Typhoon Nears Hong Kong

Flights cancelled as typhoon nears Hong Kong

Hong Kong/Beijing: -- Hong Kong and southern China were Wednesday battered by Typhoon Chanchu as the storm which killed 37 people in the Philippines caused mass evacuations and flights chaos.

More than 180,000 people were evacuated from their homes in southern China's Guangdong province and 25,219 ships were called in from sea, according to the provincial disaster relief office.

In Hong Kong, more than 50 flights, mostly to and from mainland China, were cancelled and eight other flights delayed and the typhoon skirted past, causing gale-force winds and heavy rain.

However, the former British colony looked certain to escape a direct hit from the typhoon as it changed direction and headed 200 kilometres north-east towards the coast of neighbouring Guangdong in China.

Fishing boats raced home and a yacht off Sai Kung in north-eastern Hong Kong capsized as the conditions worsened through the day. Fallen trees caused road closures and commuter delays.

Ferry services were suspended as a strong storm signal was hoisted in Hong Kong for the first time this year and kindergarten classes across the city were suspended, although schools continued as normal.

The typhoon, packing winds of 180 kilometres per hour, is one of the earliest seen in Hong Kong and southern China, which are usually affected by typhoons from June through to September.

Force 8 gale winds were reported in central Guangdong, with force 6 to 8 gales also reported in the estuary of the Pearl River, the provincial meteorological station told Xinhua news agency.

Chanchu may make landfall between Huidong and Raoping counties late Wednesday afternoon or move toward the Taiwan Strait, passing the province, according to meteorologist Huang Zhong in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province.

The last typhoon to score a direct hit on Hong Kong was Typhoon York in September 1999. One person died and 300 others were hospitalized by the storm.

One month earlier, in August 1999, a China Airlines plane flipped over upon landing in Hong Kong during Typhoon Sam, killing three people and injuring 200 others

--DPA/Bangkok Post 2006-05-17