Cyclone near China and Vietnam, many places were evacuated

Thousands of people must be evacuated from southern China and Vietnam on Monday as the cyclone approaches the mainland, according to local officials, with dozens of flights cancelled.

The country’s weather service said powerful winds and heavy rain are expected along the coast of southern China’s Guangdong and Hainan provinces when the cyclone hits from Monday to Tuesday night.

Orange alert has been issued. It is the second highest alert on a scale of four, indicating that the storm is expected to gradually intensify into a major cyclone.

According to scientists, cyclones are expected to become more powerful due to global warming.

At least 1,000 people have already been evacuated from the city of Yunfu in Guangdong province, according to the Southern Daily newspaper.

Financial transactions have been suspended on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, one of the world’s most important financial centres.

Transport is also affected. Most of the buses no longer ply in the city.

According to the Hong Kong Airport Authority, more than 1,000 passengers were affected by flight cancellations and delays. The nearby Macau airport canceled 80 flights.

At around 2 p.m. local time (0600 GMT), the cyclone was 280 km southwest of Hong Kong.

Ships around Hainan Island have been urged to return to port quickly as waves could reach heights of 6 meters in the coming hours.

In neighboring Vietnam, officials were preparing to evacuate 30,000 people in Quang Ninh and Hai Phong provinces, which will be among the most affected from Monday afternoon.

According to the Vietnamese organization in charge of disasters, the cyclone “could be one of the most significant cyclones to hit the Gulf of Tonkin in recent years”.