Sawt Falasteen - China evacuates 340,000 people as Typhoon Noul approaches

The typhoon is forecast to make landfall along the coast between Shenzhen and Haifeng in Guangdong province early Sunday, China's National Meteorological Center said.

The Chinese weather forecaster issued a red typhoon alert on Saturday night, the highest level in its four-tier system.

Parts of Guangdong and neighbouring Hunan, Fujian and Jiangxi provinces are set to receive heavy rainfall from Saturday night to Sunday night, it said.

When the typhoon makes landfall, it is forecast to have maximum sustained winds of 151-173 kilometres per hour (94-107 miles per hour).

More than 340,000 people have been evacuated in Guangdong, Xinhua news agency said.

Twelve cities across the province including Guangzhou, Dongguan and Shantou have suspended "classes, work, production, business operations, and transportation" either fully or partially, it added.

All train services in the province will be halted on Sunday, state broadcaster CCTV said.

- High risk of disaster -

Financial hub Hong Kong issued on Saturday night its third-highest typhoon warning, with local authorities saying it had opened 28 temporary shelters across the city.

The Hong Kong Observatory said it would consider raising the warning to the second-highest early Sunday.

"Local winds will strengthen significantly overnight," it added.

The city's airport authority said on Saturday that at least 49 flights were cancelled and 238 delayed, adding that "a large number of flights are expected to be affected tomorrow".

Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific said it had cancelled all flights scheduled to arrive and depart from Hong Kong International Airport between 1:15 am and 6:00 pm local time Sunday (1715 GMT Saturday and 1000 GMT Sunday).

"A small number of other flights will be delayed as we set up our flying plan to resume once the typhoon passes," it said in a statement Saturday.

Guangdong's Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport said airlines would adjust flight schedules from Sunday morning to around midday "depending on weather conditions".

Typhoon Noul is "characterised by deep inland penetration, a prolonged duration, heavy cumulative rainfall, a path traversing complex terrain, and a high risk of causing disasters", CCTV said, citing meteorologists.

Authorities upgraded Guangdong's emergency response for "flood and typhoon control" to the third level in its four-tier system on Saturday afternoon, Xinhua reported.

A level-four flood emergency response for Jiangxi and Hunan was also activated, Xinhua added.

Extreme weather has already wreaked havoc on southern and central China this month, with 39 people killed when Typhoon Maysak triggered devastating floods in Guangxi.

Maysak also caused thunderstorms and gale-force winds that killed 11 people and injured 331 in the central province of Hubei.

Scientists warn the intensity and frequency of global extreme weather events will increase as the planet continues to heat up because of fossil fuel emissions.

China is the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, but it is also a global renewable energy powerhouse that aims to make its massive economy carbon neutral by 2060.

L.Hussein--SF-PST