Ferocious super typhoon batters south

Major transportation brought to a halt; oil ship with 73 crew members rescued

Super Typhoon Mangkhut brought air, rail and road traffic to a halt in Guangdong province, hub of the southern China region, on Sunday.

Mangkhut, which first hit Taishan, a coastal city in western Guangdong at 5 pm, is the 22nd typhoon formed on the northwestern Pacific Ocean this year.

According to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, all departing and arriving flights were canceled from noon on Sunday until 8 am Monday, affecting thousands of passengers.

All high-speed trains were also canceled on Sunday, Guangzhou Railway Group said.

Ferry services across the Qiongzhou Strait and in major coastal cities have also been canceled, according to Guangdong's Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.

Meanwhile, more than 240 access roads along the province's expressway network were closed to prevent accidents caused by the weather, traffic police said.

An offshore crude oil engineering vessel that dragged anchor in the heavy storm accompanying Mangkhut was finally pulled into harbor at Huizhou, Guangdong, around 2:30 pm on Sunday, sources at the Guangdong Marine Rescue Center said.

The center sent three high-powered tugboats to the scene and organized the rescue after it was reported that the 40,000-metric-ton vessel, with 73 sailors aboard, had lost anchor around 11:40 on Sunday morning.

The captain of the vessel said all the sailors aboard were safe and that the vessel was intact when it returned to the harbor.

At Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines used special ropes to tie down their aircraft to prevent them from being blown away, sources at the airport said.

More than 400 flights at two airports in Hainan province were also canceled on Sunday morning as Mangkhut approached.

Hainan, which lies south of Guangdong, has been affected by strong winds and heavy downpours.

All airlines informed passengers of typhoon-affected flight cancellations in advance, according to airport authorities in Haikou and Sanya. So far, no passengers have been stranded at airports.

Wu Zhifang, chief forecaster at the Guangdong Meteorological Bureau, said Mangkhut is believed to be among the five strongest typhoons to have battered Guangdong since 1961.

Liu Yuemei said she has never seen such a raging storm before.

"I was soaked through when I returned home from shopping on Sunday morning," said the 48-year-old, who lives in Guangzhou's Tianhe district.

To minimize causalities and economic losses, the Guangdong government urged preparation in advance of Mangkhut.

"No one should be trusting to luck, as Mangkhut is extremely powerful," said an official with Guangdong's Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters who did not want to be named.

By 6 pm on Sunday, more than 2.53 million residents living in the low-lying areas of coastal cities had been evacuated to safety, while 18,795 shelters had been made available for people in need.

Meanwhile, 640 scenic spots and 29,762 construction sites across the province have been closed, and some 48,661 fishing boats have returned to harbor.