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Typhoon Wipha made landfall in Taishan city, Guangdong province, China, on Sunday evening, after it pounded Hong Kong, disrupting hundreds of flights in the region, Al Jazeera reported, citing state-run CCTV.
After hitting the coast around 5:55 pm (0955 GMT) on Sunday, the storm weakened into a severe tropical storm with maximum winds of 30 meters per second. The Hong Kong weather authorities recorded over 110mm of rain in just three hours, with the majority falling in the northern region. The city's typhoon signal was lowered to 8 from the maximum of 10 after being hoisted for nearly seven hours. The storm's impact in Hong Kong was significant, with 26 people seeking medical treatment, 253 taking shelter, and 471 trees reported fallen. In North Point, strong winds swept scaffolding off a residential building, leaving debris on the road. Authorities warned of more rain to come as the storm continues to affect the region, as per Al Jazeera. A representative from Hong Kong's Airport Authority on Sunday said about 500 flights have been cancelled, while 400 others are scheduled to take off or land later in the day, affecting nearly 80,000 travellers. Cathay Pacific Airways cancelled all flights with Hong Kong Airport between 5:00 am and 6:00 pm on Sunday. It waived ticket change fees and arranged for rebooking. Most public transportation in Hong Kong was suspended, including ferries, due to high sea swells. Further, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that Hainan and Guangdong provinces were also put on high alert. According to Al Jazeera, the cities of Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and Macao cancelled or delayed all daytime flights on Sunday. Wipha, which in Thai means "splendour", also passed over the Philippines at tropical storm strength and drenched parts of Taiwan. More than 370,000 people in the Philippines were affected by days of stormy weather, including 43,000 who fled to government-run emergency shelters or homes of relatives due to flooding, landslides and fierce winds. More than 400 houses were damaged in the onslaught, officials in the Philippines said. (ANI)
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