Typhoon Talim brushes Hong Kong, clobbers China’s Guandong

A typhoon with 87 mph winds brushed past Hong Kong and slammed into China’s southern Guandong province on Monday, prompting nearly 230,000 evacuations.

Typhoon Talim also prompted about 30,000 evacuations in Vietnam, BBC News reported. Hong Kong closed schools and the stock market, with safety alerts issued for beaches and warnings about possible floods or landslides.

“Violent” waves up to 30 feet were expected to assail northern parts of the South China Sea through Tuesday, according to state media.

More than 9,800 workers were evacuated from offshore oil platform facilities buffeted by wind and waves. the Associated Press reported, citing state broadcaster CCTV. More than 8,000 fishery workers were also evacuated.

State media also predicted “violent,” 20- to 30-foot waves in the northern region of the South China Sea, Reuters reported.

Talim also brought between 7 and 12 inches of rain in a three-hour period to several cities in southeastern Fujian and eastern Jiangsu provinces, Reuters reported.

The fourth typhoon of the year also hit the island province of Hainan and was expected to enter the Gulf of Tonkin, then hit land again in the Guangxi region on Tuesday before weakening in Vietnam on Wednesday, AP reported.

Hundreds of flights and trains were canceled as well, according to BBC News.

Talim was the first typhoon to make landfall this year, Reuters reported.

With News Wire Services