Extreme Conditions

Typhoon hits southern China

(04 August 2006)

Typhoon Prapiroon hit the coast of southern China yesterday, killing at least five people.

Tens of thousands of residents had been forced to evacuate their home.

The storm made landfall at 1920 local time (1120 GMT) near Yangjiang City in Guangdong province, bringing torrential rain and powerful winds.

Before hitting land, the storm passed close to Hong Kong and Macau. More than 3,000 airline passengers were stranded at Hong Kong airport as flights were cancelled or delayed.

The typhoon is now heading northwest and has weakened to a tropical storm.