China braces for Typhoon Hato: Trains cancelled, thousands evacuated

Thousands of people have been evacuated ahead of Typhoon Hato, the 13th of this year, which is moving towards China's southeast coast, with damaging winds, flooding rains and huge storm on Wednesday.

The south-western province of Guizhou has also started disaster alert measures ahead of the typhoon's arrival.

The strength of Hato will be equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane when it makes landfall during the midday hours, local time.

Train services on the Guangzhou-Nanning line have been suspended from 5 a.m. on Wednesday, said railway authorities in the neighbouring Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

It is expected to move north-west at speeds between 20 kmph and 25 kmph, according to the Guangdong provincial meteorological bureau, the Global Times reported.

All the necessary preparations have been completed as the typhoon is set to make landfall at the coast between Zhuhai and Yangjiang.

The typhoon is expected to bring rains and gales with a maximum speed of around 40 meters per second to seas off the coast of Fujian and to Guangdong.

More than 4,000 fish farmers and their families returned to shore and all fishing boats returned to the harbour on Tuesday.

Huge waves as high as ten meters are expected in the South China Sea as the typhoon moves past, according to the State Oceanic Administration.

Fishermen and fish farm workers have been evacuated from the coast.

High-speed trains linking Shenzhen with the eastern provinces of Fujian and Jiangxi have also been cancelled.

Guangdong's flood relief agency said Hato could cause severe damage because it is growing stronger as it nears the shore. The typhoon also comes at a time when the Guangdong coast was busy with tourists and fish farm workers.

The agency also warned of possible severe flooding in low-lying areas.