More on imminent typhoon headed toward China…
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S.China coast battens down as super typhoon nears
* Typhoon Megi could be worst typhoon in S. China in decades
* Hong Kong warns direct hit could cause very serious impact
* S. China ports and oil terminals shut, masses evacuated (Adds details throughout)
By James Pomfret
HONG KONG, Oct 21 (Reuters) – Ports and oil terminals in Hong Kong and southern China shut down operations on Thursday, forcing tankers to anchor offshore to ride out one of the biggest typhoons to threaten the South China coast in years.
53,000 fishing vessels had returned to port, while on the tropical resort island of Hainan, vulnerable to heavy flooding, as many as 200,000 people had been evacuated from low-lying areas along with another 150,000 from the southeastern coastal province of Fujian, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Marine authorities say the typhoon could generate a huge and destructive “50-year storm surge” along the China coastline.
“The storm surge could be so devastating that buildings, docks, villages and cities could be destroyed by it,” Bai Yiping, director of South China Sea Forecasting Center of the State Oceanic Administration was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
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