Authorities in Guangdong have evacuated more than 340,000 people as Typhoon Noul beared down on the coast of Guangdong, prompting the national observatory to issue its highest typhoon warning.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) said the storm is expected to strengthen further before making landfall, packing maximum winds reaching Force 14.

Subsequently Noul is expected to shift to a north-northwestward course and gradually weaken.

Earlier on Saturday the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters raised its emergency response for flood and typhoon control in Guangdong Province to Level III, while activating a Level IV flood emergency response for Jiangxi and Hunan provinces.

Maritime authorities have guided 5,109 vessels in Guangdong's coastal waters to safe areas. Another 418 vessels were directed across jurisdictional boundaries to shelter in western Guangdong, Hainan Province and waters off northern Fujian Province.



Edited by Cecil Wong