China on high alert for typhoon Kalmaegi

More than 90,000 people have been evacuated and some 30,000 vessels have returned to harbor as south China issued a top alert for typhoon Kalmaegi.

In Wenchang city of Hainan Province, 94,336 people have been evacuated as of 9 p.m. Monday, according to local authorities.

Nearly 26,000 fishing boats in Hainan and over 3,000 vessels in Guangdong have been back to shore, according to flood control and maritime authorities of the two provinces.

Some 6,000 oil rig workers have been evacuated by helicopter, according to the Guangdong Maritime Bureau.

And 29 rescue ships and two helicopters are on standby in the South China Sea for the storm.

China Southern Airlines have decided to cancel all the flights to or from Haikou on Tuesday morning.

The Hainan government issued the highest Grade I alert at 10 a.m. Monday for Kalmaegi, which was spotted on the sea 645 km southeast of Leizhou City, Guangdong Province at 4 p.m. Monday.

The storm is moving at a speed of 30 km per hour northwestward and packing winds of up to 137 km per hour, said the National Meteorological Center.

Schools, government units who have no work related to typhoon prevention, and enterprises, will have Tuesday off in Haikou, the provincial capital.

In Haikou, many citizens rushed to supermarkets on Sunday and Monday to stockpile bottled water, instant noodle and fruit for fears of power and water cut after the storm comes.

Shipping services and passenger trains on the Qiongzhou Strait, which connects Hainan and Guangdong, were suspended at 1 p.m. Monday.

Flood control authorities in Haikou advised the public to reduce outdoor activities as much as possible.

Guangdong also launched a top level response to the typhoon, which is forecast to land somewhere between Wuchuan in Guangdong and Wanning in Hainan between Tuesday morning and midday.

Torrential rains are forceast to sweep Guangdong and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region from Tuesday to Thursday.