Southern China hit by Typhoon Nida

The cities of Zhuhai and Shanwei in Guangdong province have issued red alerts alongside Guangzhou - the highest in China's four-tier warning system. Typhoon Nida was predicted to affect nearly all communities in the Hong Kong - Guangzhou - Macau megapolis area, as it made landfall on August 2.

People living in the storm's path had been told to prepare three days' worth of food and other essentials, China's government-owned Xinhua news agency reported.

Members of the public in Guangzhou have been advised to stay indoors, and all work as well as mass transport has reportedly been cancelled due to Typhoon Nida, Xinhua reported.

Air traffic suspended

More than 220 flights out of Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai airports were cancelled, according to the Sohu news portal.

Gale-force winds also disrupted hundreds of flights out of Hong Kong, while low-lying areas were put on flood alert. Hong Kong's first major typhoon this year brought gusts of more than 100 km per hour (62 miles per hour). More than 150 flights were cancelled, the Airport Authority said, with Cathay Pacific and Dragonair warning none of their flights would be operating until 2 pm local time (0600 UTC).

Nearly 2,000 workers working on the construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge were evacuated earlier, and more than 2,000 others working on an offshore oil platform were relocated on the weekend. Ferries between Hong Kong and Macau were also suspended.

Nida had brought strong winds and torrential rains to the Philippines on the weekend, while southern China has already been hit by storms this year. Last month, Typhoon Nepartak drove at least 420,000 Chinese from their homes, left at least 69 dead and caused more than 7.1 billion yuan (980 million euros/$1.1 billion) in losses in Fujian province alone.

ss/bw (AFP, Reuters)