China warns of big waves, wind and rain as Typhoon Koinu approaches

Locals urged to remain on high alert for floods

China warned on Saturday of big waves, heavy rain and strong winds as Typhoon Koinu heads towards southern provinces after causing havoc in Taiwan.

In certain areas of Guangdong province, ferry services came to a halt, while the city of Guangzhou had to cancel several flights and train services.

Waves of up to nine metres were expected in the South China Sea under the impact of the storm on Saturday and Sunday, the State Oceanic Administration said as it issued an orange alert, the second highest in a four-coloured warning system.

Koinu, which means "puppy" in Japanese, was forecast to turn into a tropical storm by Saturday and turn to the southwest, taking it over waters that parallel China’s southeastern coast on Sunday.

It is now heading west along China’s southern coast at a speed of 5-10 kph, the National Meteorological Centre (NMC) said. It is expected to weaken into a strong tropical storm from late on Monday.

The NMC has urged locals to remain on high alert for flood and prepare for typhoon emergency response measures, reported China Daily. Shantou authorities in Guangdong province placed restricted movement on cross-bridges yesterday, the outlet reported.

Set to be the 14th typhoon in China this year, it was about 370km from Hong Kong on Friday morning and moving at about 10km per hour, the city government’s Hong Kong Observatory said.

It brought pounding rain and wind gusts to southern and central Taiwan on Thursday, downing trees and damaging buildings. An 84-year-old woman was killed by flying glass in Taichung city and about 400 others were injured.

On Thursday, waves of up to seven metres were reported, and videos online showed significant damage to houses and shopfronts along coastal areas.

“The situation is very bad, roads broken, cannot pump fuel and cannot buy anything from the convenience store, no food stocks and water. So everyone is collecting rainwater for cooking,” Orchid Island restaurant owner Judy Chiu told Reuters.

The government was struggling to send the boats with aid supplies to the remote Orchid Island. Officials say the first aid may not arrive until Saturday morning.

Aid and repair works continue on the island state as the government and air force helicopters flew in engineers to restore electricity and telecommunications.

Additional reporting from the agencies