Typhoon Chan-hom hits China coast

Typhoon Chan-hom packed winds of 160 kilometers (99 miles) per hour as it hit the Chinese city of Zhoushan on Saturday afternoon local time (0840 UTC).

Described as possibly the strongest storm to strike China since the beginning of communist rule, Chinese authorities evacuated more than a million people living on the East China Sea coast.

As the Typhoon made landfall, power and road access was cut to dozens of flooded villages but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Heavy downpours and powerful winds blew down trees and street signs across Zhejiang province and knocked down an unoccupied building in the city of Cixi, local television reported.

State news agency Xinhua said some 29,000 ships had been ordered back to port, and that hundreds of flights and train services had been suspended in the region.

Alert downgraded

Neighboring Jiangsu - China's most densely populated province - was also being pounded as the Typhoon brought heavy rain which was expected to last for hours.

Shanghai, the largest city, was also expected to be affected. Residents were urged to stay home and several public events were cancelled as the weather deteriorated.

The National Meteorological Centre maintained its highest red alert for the storm despite earlier downgrading it from "super" to "strong."

Chan-hom left five people dead in the Philippines earlier in the week, while 20 people were injured on Friday as it moved over islands in southern Japan, according to the Kyodo news agency.

Typhoons often form over the East and South China Sea at this time of year, drawing energy from the warm waters.

Earlier in the week, Typhoon Linfa displaced 56,000 people in Guangong province in southern China.

mm/jlw AFP, dpa, Reuters