Typhoon causes major flight disruptions in Hong Kong and southern China

Rescue workers asses a toppled billboard in Quezon city, Philippines due to enhanced winds and rain as Tropical Storm Wipha, locally called Crising, exits the northern portion of country on Saturday  (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

HONG KONG — Typhoon Wipha caused major flight disruptions today (Sunday) in Hong Kong and at some nearby airports in China as it moved west along the southern coast.
Airports in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Macau canceled or postponed all their daytime flights, their websites showed. Some high-speed train service in the area was suspended.
The Hong Kong Observatory issued a hurricane signal No. 10, its highest warning. The eye of the storm was passing just south of the city around midday with maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers (87 miles) per hour, the Observatory said.
The government said over 200 people had headed to public shelters and that it had received dozens of reports of fallen trees. Hong Kong Disneyland and other amusement parks were closed.
The storm, which reached typhoon strength overnight, was headed toward Macaou and the neighboring Chinese city of Zhuhai. It was forecast to make landfall late Sunday and continue moving west, reaching Vietnam later this week.
Wipha, which is a Thai name, passed over the Philippines at tropical storm strength and drenched parts of Taiwan on Saturday. Names for typhoons in the western Pacific are chosen by the countries in the region.
In the Philippines, the storm intensified seasonal monsoon rains, leaving at least one villager dead in floodwaters in northern Cagayan province.
More than 370,000 people were affected by days of stormy weather, including 43,000 who fled to government-run emergency shelters or homes of relatives due to flooding, landslides and fierce wind. More than 400 houses were damaged in the onslaught, officials said.
On the other side of the Taiwan Strait, many ferries suspended service in Fujian province on China’s east coast.
The storm, the sixth of the season in the western Pacific, is forecast to reach typhoon strength before passing near Hong Kong overnight. It is expected to bring heavy rain along China’s southern coast and then weaken as it heads west to Vietnam and Laos.
In Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific said that all flights arriving or departing between 5 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Sunday would be canceled or delayed. The airline is waiving ticket change fees, it said.
The Hong Kong Observatory warned of gale-force or higher winds and possible flooding in low-lying coastal areas because of storm surges. A 30-kilometer (18-mile) bridge that crosses the water between Hong Kong and Macau will be closed overnight, Hong Kong broadcaster RTHK reported.
Authorities in Hainan province, a Chinese island that is a popular beach resort, said that three ports would suspend operations starting Saturday night in Haikou, the provincial capital.
MDT/AP