Typhoon Nida has hit the Dapeng Peninsula in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, bringing with it heavy rain and gale force winds.
The typhoon, China's fourth this year, made landfall early on Tuesday morning, bringing gusts of over 150 kilometers per hour.
According to the national weather bureau, the system is moving north west and is expected to sweep across the city of Guangzhou and towards the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Before the storm arrived, over one-thousand ships were ordered to port and almost 100,000 people were evacuated to safety.
Work, production and school classes were suspended in seven cities on the Pearl River Delta including Zhongshan and Zhuhai. The Nanning Railway Bureau said nearly 200 rail services were suspended, including 180 bullet trains.
Rain and winds ease after typhoon passes
Guangdong province has witnessed torrential downpours and strong winds. Trees were uprooted, causing traffic chaos. Electricity supplies were cut off due to damaged power lines.
Over half a million people have been affected. The province has launched the highest-level emergency response, and advised residents to suspend businesses, market trading, and classes. Railway services and flights have also been cancelled.
In Zhuhai, heavy downpours lashed the city.
Zhuhai city in the western bank of the Pearl River Estuary has seen rains and winds triggered by typhoon, a 140-mm rainfall has been recorded in the city within a 12-hour-period from Monday night to Tuesday morning.
That caused a significant rise in the seawater level. At 10 am on Tuesday, waves were blown backward to the city's eastern coastal lines. A path leading to the city's symbolic statue was swamped.
But by the afternoon, as the wind and rain began to ease off, water levels began to drop. Some residents can't help but go out to take a look.
"The situation is not as bad as I expected. You see it's peaceful now. The rains were heavy in the morning, but now it has eased a lot," one Zhuhai resident said.
"On my way here from southern side of the city to the east, winds and rains get less and less," another local resident said.
Traffic is gradually returning to normal, with trains and flights in the province partly resumed.
No disasters or casualties have been reported in the affected region either.
