Thousands evacuated as typhoon Kalmaegi batters China

A motorcycle falls on the street as residents ride their vehicles against heavy rain under the influence of typhoon Kalmaegi, in Haikou, Hainan province.

Typhoon Kalmaegi battered China’s southern island province of Hainan on Tuesday, forcing the cancellation of flights and the evacuation area in its path.

The storm made landfall mid-morning in Wengtian township, with winds of 144 kilometres per hour, after local officials had evacuated some 94,000 people on Monday, state media said.

Meilan International Airport in the provincial capital Haikou cancelled 104 flights on Tuesday morning, while the main airport in the island’s popular resort city of Sanya cancelled 69 flights,

Xinhua reported.

The typhoon killed at least eight people and displaced about 18,000 people in the northern Philippines over the weekend, before heading toward southern China.