China braces for strengthened super typhoon Rammasun

Rammasun has strengthened to a super typhoon and will probably make landfall in south China's island province of Hainan or the coastal area of Guangdong Province on Friday afternoon, the Hainan provincial meteorological station said on Friday.

Packing rainstorms and winds of up to 180 km per hour, Rammasun is moving northwest at a speed of 20 to 25 km per hour and will probably land in Qionghai City of Hainan or Dianbai District, Maoming City of Guangdong, according to the station's forecast.

More than 26,000 residents near the projected landfall region have been evacuated, said the Hainan provincial command center for flood prevention, drought control and typhoon response.

The super typhoon is expected to be the strongest that Hainan Province has witnessed in 40 years.

The provincial tourism bureau on Friday issued an urgent circular, requiring all tourism resorts to close and tour bus companies to suspend operation from 1 p.m. on Friday to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Affected by the super typhoon, 36 trains have been canceled from Thursday to Sunday in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, which borders Guangdong. High-speed train services between regional capital Nanning and coastal cities have also been suspended, according to Nanning's railway bureau.