Typhoon Noul puts Southern China on alert, thousands evacuated as Hong Kong cancels flights

Over 20,000 people evacuated by late Friday in the southern Guangdong province

Typhoon Noul is bringing winds and heavy rain to southern China and Hong Kong over the weekend, with the region on high alert and dozens of flights cancelled.

Hong Kong’s Observatory said Noul, which had intensified with maximum sustained winds of 140 km/h near its centre, was moving on Saturday steadily across the northeastern part of the South China Sea and edging closer to the coast of eastern Guangdong.

The city’s observatory forecasts that Noul could make landfall Sunday morning around the vicinity of the southern Chinese cities of Huizhou and Shanwei, bringing strong winds and squally showers to parts of the region. China’s weather center, meanwhile, expects Noul to make landfall between late Saturday and early Sunday.

It's the third typhoon to threaten the region this month.

Hong Kong airport’s website showed more than 150 flights had been cancelled for Saturday and Sunday.

As Noul approaches Hong Kong, parts of a large scaffolding on a highrise building collapsed on Saturday afternoon, local police said, adding that initial reports indicated there were no injuries.

Thousands of people already evacuated

China’s National Meteorological Center expects parts of southeastern Guangdong and the southern coast of Fujian will experience heavy rain over the weekend.

More than 20,000 people had been evacuated by late Friday in the southern Guangdong province, according to local media. Train services in the province have been cancelled for Sunday, according to the China News Service.

Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration said Noul was bringing rainfall to parts of southern and eastern Taiwan. It was passing over waters south of Taiwan and moving away from the island Saturday.

Earlier this month, Typhoon Bavi brought strong winds and rain to eastern China, leading to the evacuation of more than two million people. It made landfall on July 11. Another, Maysak, made landfall in southern China on July 3.