GUANGZHOU, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The cities of Zhuhai and Jiangmen in south China's Guangdong Province activated a Level-III emergency response on Sunday in the face of Typhoon Koinu, the 14th typhoon of this year, asking fishing boats to return to harbor and schools to suspend classes.
More than 35,500 fishing boats across the province have returned to port and 70 coastal scenic areas have closed temporarily. The passenger ro-ro ship service in Qiongzhou Strait, which connects China's island province of Hainan and Guangdong, will be suspended from 2 p.m. Monday, local authorities said.
Primary and secondary schools and kindergartens in Zhuhai have been ordered to suspend classes starting from Sunday noon.
Typhoon Koinu was located around 160 km south of the city of Shanwei in Guangdong at 5 a.m. on Sunday, packing winds of up to 151 kph near its center, according to the National Meteorological Center.
Affected by the typhoon, parts of Taiwan and Guangdong will be lashed by heavy rain or rainstorms from Sunday to Monday, while some coastal regions in Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong will experience gales, said the center. ■
