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Typhoon lashes southern China, hitting travel, schools
Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 24, 2008 Typhoon Hagupit slammed into southern China on Wednesday after battering Hong Kong, where it injured dozens of people, disrupted air travel and forced the closure of schools, officials said. The typhoon made landfall in southern Guangdong province around 10:00 am (0200 GMT) after torrential rain had lashed Hong Kong overnight with winds of up to 162 kilometres (100 miles) per hour, the Hong Kong Observatory said. Nearly 60 people aged from six to 89 were hospitalised with storm-related injuries, the Hong Kong government said in a statement. Most were treated for minor injuries but 10 remained in hospital Wednesday and three were in a serious condition, the statement said. By 6:30am, 56 flights in and out of the territory had been cancelled, 92 delayed and three diverted, the statement said. All schools and courts in the territory were closed on Wednesday. The rain caused flooding in 16 areas and tore down scaffolding and trees. In southern China, strong winds uprooted trees and torrential rain also forced officials there to close schools and cancel flights, state news agency Xinhua reported. The typhoon landed south of the city of Maoming packing winds of more than 200 kilometres at its centre, Xinhua said, citing the Guangdong Provincial Meteorological Bureau. Xinhua called the storm the worst typhoon to hit Guangdong in more than a decade and said all schools in the coastal city of Zhanjiang were closed. "When the gales sweep through, you feel like you'll be blown away," Xinhua's reporter in Zhanjiang, Chen Xianfeng, said. The province called more than 50,000 vessels with almost 200,000 fishermen and crew members back to port Tuesday, the report said. Six people were killed after Hagupit hit the northern Philippines on Monday, officials said, while rescuers were still searching for 13 gold miners trapped in a flooded shaft. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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Hong Kong braces for Typhoon Hagupit Hong Kong (AFP) Sept 23, 2008 Hong Kong braced itself for severe storms on Tuesday as Typhoon Hagupit hurtled towards the southern Chinese city. |
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