Strong winds, rain lash China as typhoon 'Noul' makes landfall
At least 350 passenger flights departing and arriving from Hong Kong had been canceled on Sunday.
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At least 350 passenger flights departing and arriving from Hong Kong had been canceled on Sunday.
BEIJING (AFP) — "Typhoon Noul" lashed a stretch of southern China with strong winds and rain on Sunday, prompting emergency relief in the fiercest storm to hit the country this year, state media reported.
Prior to the storm's early-morning landfall, severe weather forecasts had spurred authorities to evacuate more than 340,000 people and suspend work and rail services, with major flight disruptions continuing throughout Sunday morning.
The center of the typhoon crossed over land at around 3:50 a.m. near the town of Pinghai, Guangdong Province — about 80 kilometers northeast of financial hub Hong Kong — state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Maximum sustained winds near the eye of the storm at the time of landfall were 162 kms per hour, the report said.
That made "Noul" the strongest typhoon to strike the country so far in 2026, CCTV added.
Before gaining intensity on Saturday over the South China Sea, "Noul" had already left a path of damage, clipping the extreme northern islands of the Philippines.
Three people were killed and one was missing due to the typhoon, the Philippine government's disaster agency said Sunday.
More than 9,300 people had been evacuated and 235 houses had suffered damage, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council added.
In southern China early Sunday, howling winds and heavy rains were seen in footage published by CCTV, with roads strewn with debris and some small structures including a basketball net toppled by the gusts.
Authorities in Guangdong elevated the province's disaster relief emergency response to its third-highest — then second-highest — level in successive updates on Sunday morning.
At least 350 passenger flights departing and arriving from Hong Kong had been canceled on Sunday, the airport's website showed.
Authorities in the city said 21 people were injured by the typhoon while 300 reports of fallen trees and eight reports of flooding had been received.
"Noul is moving steadily into inland Guangdong and weakening progressively, but gales are still affecting many places over Hong Kong, with occasional storm force winds over high ground," the Hong Kong Observatory said.
The Hong Kong government said it has received over 100 reports of fallen trees, and nine people were injured.
"After landfall, Noul will move inland, bringing strong winds and rain to Jiangxi, Hunan and Hubei provinces," CCTV said.
"Extreme" rainfall is possible in parts of Guangdong, Hunan and Jiangxi, CCTV said, particularly in mountainous areas where flood prevention is "complex."
The flood-control emergency response in those three provinces had been upgraded to the third-highest level, Xinhua reported.
CCTV noted that precipitation caused by the typhoon could last through Tuesday, including in provinces as far north as Henan and Shandong.
The central government's National Development and Reform Commission allocated 100 million yuan ($14.8 million) to support Guangdong in post-typhoon recovery efforts, including reconstruction of damaged roads and infrastructure.
