Typhoon Kalmaegi lands in south China

Typhoon Kalmaegi landed in China's southernmost island province Hainan on Tuesday morning, forcing flight cancellations and boat evacuations.

The hurricane made landfall in Wengtian Township, Wenchang City at a speed of 40 meters per second at 9:40 a.m. It is the fifteenth typhoon to hit China this year.

It also landed in the coastal areas of Xuwen County, Guangdong Province at 12:45 pm on Tuesday, according to the provincial meteorological bureau.

Typhoon Kalmaegi is weaker than the super typhoon Rammasun that killed 62 people in July, according to Gao Yuanfu from Mingyue Village, Wengtian Township.

Gao's leg, tied with a bandage, was badly injured in typhoon Rammasun,the strongest typhoon to hit south China in four decades. Gao's family has been living in tents for the past two months as his house was blown away in the last typhoon.

"Our new house has yet to be completed and we suffer again," said Gao, who is worried most about his paddy harvest.

"It is only half a month away for the harvest," he said, adding that he will suffer losses again.

More than 20,000 residents have been resettled in 24 temporary settlements since Monday morning, said Zheng Hongyan, party secretary of the Wengtian township government.

The provincial capital's Haikou Meilan International Airport canceled 104 flights on Tuesday. The Sanya Phoenix International Airport in the resort city of Sanya canceled 69 flights as of 9 am on Tuesday.

In Lingao County, more than 4,300 fishing boats have been called back to shore and 19,924 people have been evacuated, according to the county government.

At Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, the busiest airport in south China, most flights were unaffected by the typhoon, with only 11 flights canceled and three delayed on Tuesday.