Mainland authorities have evacuated more than 20,000 people and suspended railway services in southern China as approaching Typhoon Noul threatens torrential rain and gale-force winds, according to state media.

The typhoon is forecast, according to the National Meteorological Center, to make landfall between Zhuhai and Raoping in Guangdong sometime from Saturday evening to Sunday morning.

It maintained an orange typhoon alert on Saturday, the second-highest level in its four-tier system, after warning that parts of Guangdong and Fujian would experience gales and torrential rain.

More than 20,000 people had been evacuated in Guangdong, state broadcaster CCTV said in a bulletin late on Friday.

Fishing vessels operating at sea in the province had returned to ports to "shelter from the storm", it added.

Guangdong suspended some train services on Saturday morning, with all train services in the province to be halted on Sunday, CCTV said.

Schools in Guangdong's Chaozhou city were instructed to suspend on-campus activities, according to local media reports.

The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Friday activated a Level-IV emergency response for flooding and typhoon control in Guangdong and Fujian and dispatched a work team to Guangdong for guidance.

On the same day, the Ministry of Emergency Management launched a Level-IV emergency response for geological disasters in the two provinces.

To safeguard agricultural production against potential risks, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has recently taken a series of measures, which include guiding affected areas to speed up the harvesting of crops and aquaculture products and to reinforce planting and breeding facilities. (AFP & Xinhua)



Edited by Azam Khan