Typhoon Utor makes landfall in S China

GUANGZHOU - Typhoon Utor made landfall in South China's Guangdong province Wednesday afternoon, bringing heavy rains and strong gales, local meteorological authorities said.

Utor, the 11th typhoon to hit China this year, landed at 3:50 p.m. near the city of Yangjiang in western Guangdong, packing winds of over 150 km per hour at the storm center.

The typhoon is weakening as it moves northwestward at a speed of around 20 km per hour. It will move into Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Wednesday night and is expected to linger there for about four days.

In the 24 hours to 4 pm Wednesday, one meteorological station in Guandong recorded over 250 mm of rain. Another 20 stations recorded over 100 mm of precipitation.

The heavy rains are forecast to last till Friday in most parts of Guangdong.

The meteorological agency has urged local authorities and residents to guard against flooding, landslides and mudlflows during the coming days of torrential rain.

People are advised to stay indoors, and authorities are also closely monitoring reservoirs.

Earlier, more than 158,000 people in Guangdong and the island province of Hainan to the south, mostly those residing in fishing vessels, makeshift shelters and other unstable structures, along with the eldery, have been relocated to safety. Tens of thousands of fishing boats have returned to port to take shelter from the storms.

Heavy winds brought by the typhoon capsized a Hong Kong cargo ship carrying 21 crew members and 57,000 tonnes of nickel ore on Wednesday when the boat was seeking shelter near islands in the Pearl River estuary.

Three Hong Kong rescue helicopters and one patrol ship from Guangdong managed to pull all the 21 crew members alive from the waters one and a half hours after the sinking.