BEIJING (AP) – Cities in eastern China suspended ferry services and classes and flights were cancelled in Japan yesterday as Typhoon Hinnamnor, the strongest global storm this year, blew its way past Taiwan and the Koreas with fierce winds and heavy rains.
Shanghai grounded ferry services and deployed more than 50,000 police officers to aid with rescues and guide traffic away from danger areas. The eastern business hub of Wenzhou ordered all classes suspended for today.
Hinnamnor is forecasted to move gradually northward into the East China Sea with maximum sustained winds of 175 kilometres per hour, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.
Evacuations and flight cancellations have been ordered in Japan’s southern Okinawa Island. The typhoon is also expected to bring intense rainfall to the Korean Peninsula, bringing the possibility of flooding.
China’s National Meteorological Center issued a yellow typhoon warning at 10am yesterday.
Ships were told to return to port to take shelter from the wind, and the centre also urged people against large gatherings both indoors and outdoors.
In Japan, the typhoon lashed Okinawa and nearby islands with heavy rain and fierce winds, threatening flooding and grounding more than 100 flights.
Footage on Japan’s NHK national television showed trees violently shaken by the storm, with fierce rainfall hitting the pavement.
A greenhouse for mangoes on Ishigaki Island was knocked down. On the main Okinawa island, two elderly people fell down and were slightly injured, according to media reports.
