The world's strongest storm this year, Typhoon Mangkhut, continued its path of destruction across Southeast Asia over the weekend, reaching mainland China on Sunday afternoon after pummeling Hong Kong and killing dozens in the Philippines.

The storm has carved a deadly trail across the region, killing two people in southern China and at least 54 people in the Philippines. Many of the Philippines' deaths were caused by landslides, with dozens more still believed to be buried beneath the deluge, government officials said at a news conference Sunday.

More than 2.45 million people have been evacuated in China's Guangdong province as Mangkhut made landfall at 5 p.m. local time, according to Chinese state media.

Xinhua reported that 18,327 emergency shelters had been activated, and that 632 tourism and 29,611 construction sites had been shut down.

As Mangkhut marched toward the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong was also buffeted by fierce winds that tore off roofs, downed trees and caused cranes perched atop half-built skyscrapers to swing ominously.

Hong Kong's weather observatory issued its highest storm warning alert -- a signal T10 -- and the normally bustling city was all but shut down as transport was suspended and torrential rain flooded roads and buildings.

Winds of 173 kilometers per hour (107 miles per hour) and gusts of up to 223 kph (138 mph) were reported, stronger than Hurricane Florence that hit North Carolina over the weekend. There were no reported deaths in Hong Kong, a city well prepared for tropical cyclones.

Airports in Shenzhen, a technology hub across the border from Hong Kong, and on the resort island of Hainan also canceled all flights, according to Chinese state media.

Mangkhut is now expected to move inland of western Guangdong. While the storm has weakened, a T8 warning was still in place into Sunday evening -- meaning that winds with speeds of about 63 kph were expected.

Source:
@BRUDIRECT.COM

by CNN

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