Han Ximin

ximhan@126.com

TYPHOON Mangkhut, which local forecast said was the strongest to strike Shenzhen since 1983, halted the city’s air, land and sea traffic yesterday.

The city issued a red alert for the typhoon, which later made landfall at 5 p.m. yesterday in the coastal area of Taishan, Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province, according to Shenzhen Meteorological Observatory.

After making landfall, the typhoon will continue to move northwest, but its force will dwindle. The strong wind was expected to continue until 8 p.m. and the heavy rain was expected to last until midnight, according to the observatory.

By 5 p.m., the city recorded an average of 127.6 millimeters of rainfall. The biggest rainfall was 215.8 millimeters in Wutong Village in Luohu District.

Guangdong Governor Ma Xingrui, at two video conferences, has required all cities take measures to ensure life and property safety of the people. At a meeting Saturday, Shenzhen Party chief Wang Weizhong required the city to put typhoon prevention as the utmost priority on the city’s agenda.

Schools, business venues, beaches and parks were closed as Mangkhut, packing strong gales of 50 meters per second, skirted the Pearl River Delta about south of the city at around noon.

On its way, the typhoon uprooted trees, ripped off roofs, shattered windows, caused blackouts and flooded roads.

Flights at the Shenzhen International Airport were all canceled yesterday and the suspension will last until 8 a.m. today. All long-distance coach services were suspended from 6 p.m. Saturday.

By yesterday morning, before the typhoon affected the city, the city had opened 514 indoor shelters and arranged accommodations for 118,000 people. The shelters are open 24 hours a day.

More than 500 people took shelter at Huaqiang Vocational and Technical School in Futian District yesterday, setting a new record for the school. According to the school’s security chief surnamed Wu, they had prepared food, water and medical kits for those who needed help.

All Metro lines and buses on 652 routes suspended services since noon.

Guangdong, Fujian and Hainan took preventative measures ahead of Mangkhut.

More than 400 flights at two airports in Hainan were canceled yesterday, with all coastal resorts and schools closed, as Mangkhut approached.

The Hainan provincial tourist department has ordered all scenic areas, schools and outdoor businesses to remain closed through this morning.

By Saturday, fishing boats from the coastal cities of Guangdong were all called into harbor. Ferry services in the Qiongzhou Strait linking Guangdong and Hainan have been suspended since Saturday morning.

China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.   (Special report on P3)