Typhoon Matmo strengthens, prompting China to evacuate 347,000 people ahead of landfall

Typhoon Matmo strengthened up of making landfall Sunday successful China, prompting the authorities to evacuate immoderate 347,000 radical from the confederate provinces of Guangdong and Hainan.

The typhoon had maximum sustained upwind speeds of 151 kph (94 mph) connected Sunday morning, according to China's National Meteorological Center. It deed Zhanjiang successful Guangdong astir mid-afternoon Sunday. The upwind authorization issued a red-level typhoon warning, the highest successful its system.

Hainan, which is besides successful the pathway of the storm, canceled flights and unopen down nationalist transport and businesses starting Saturday successful mentation for the storm. The state besides preemptively evacuated 197,856 people, according to authorities media, The Paper.

Matmo straight deed the southwestern parts of Guangdong, wherever 151,000 radical evacuated, The Paper reported. Meanwhile, section media aired footage showing ample waves washing seawater onto roads successful villages by the seashore successful Guangdong's Zhanjiang.

Authorities are besides informing of dense rain, with rainfall expected to deed 100 to 249 mm (3.93 to 9.8 inches) successful immoderate parts of Guangdong and Hainan.

In the portion of Macau, which is not successful the typhoon's nonstop path, classes and tutoring sessions were canceled owed to upwind conditions.

Matmao had passed done the Philippines earlier this week. While determination were nary reports of casualties oregon large damage, the tempest affected much than 220,000 radical successful 5 bluish cultivation plains and mountainous regions. Nearly 35,000 of them either moved to exigency shelters oregon houses of relatives distant from landslide- oregon flood-prone villages, disaster-response officials said connected Sunday.

The tempest volition past determination westward and north, toward bluish Vietnam and China's Yunnan province.