Typhoon Hato which made landfall at noon today in the city of Zhuhai in South China's Guangdong province, at its epicenter, gales were as strong as 45 meters per second. Thousands of residents along the Chinese coast were evacuated and fishing vessels were called back to port. The storm is also affecting Hong Kong where at least 34 people have been reported injured, destructive winds and waves of uprooted trees shutting down the city stock market and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights. While in the nearby city of Macow three people were reportedly killed across the Pearl River estuary.
Authorities have closed major bridges and it fears sea levels could rise due to heavy rainfall and strong winds. Both Hong Kong and Macow initially raised their storm warning to the maximum level ten, the first such alert in five years. For the storm moving westwards and hitting Guangxi province later this evening, Hong Kong has now downgraded its warning level to eight.