Typhoon may strike China today

HONG KONG – Residents of Hong Kong braced themselves today for the arrival of a powerful typhoon that brought death and destruction when it tore through the Philippines earlier this week.

Hong Kong’s stock market closed today and shops and businesses shuttered as Typhoon Nesat made its way across the South China Sea from the Philippines, where the storm killed 35 people and left another 45 missing.

The typhoon is expected to skirt south of Hong Kong and reach China’s island region of Hainan and Guangdong province this afternoon or evening, according to the Hainan Meteorological Bureau.

Ferry services …

HONG KONG – Residents of Hong Kong braced themselves today for the arrival of a powerful typhoon that brought death and destruction when it tore through the Philippines earlier this week.

Hong Kong’s stock market closed today and shops and businesses shuttered as Typhoon Nesat made its way across the South China Sea from the Philippines, where the storm killed 35 people and left another 45 missing.

The typhoon is expected to skirt south of Hong Kong and reach China’s island region of Hainan and Guangdong province this afternoon or evening, according to the Hainan Meteorological Bureau.

Ferry services in Hainan were halted and the province prepared for possible flooding and mudslides, the bureau reported.

The National Meteorological Center reported that fishing boats were in port and schools along the coast had been shut in advance of the typhoon, which is the 17th and likely the strongest to hit Hainan this year.

Nesat left devastation in the Philippines, triggering some of the worst flooding in downtown Manila in decades.