Typhoon Koppu, which landed Tuesday morning on the coast of Guangdong Province, is expected to bring rain storms to most parts of southern China over the next two days, the central observatory forecasts.
The typhoon, the 15th this year, was set to cause heavy rain or rain storms in most parts of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Hainan Province and central and western Guangdong Province during the next two days, the observatory said.
Hunan, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces would experience moderate or heavy rain as the typhoon moved westward. Parts of these regions would expect rain storms.
As of Tuesday, the typhoon had caused no casualties in Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan except for one person reported missing in Guangdong, said the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.
Typhoon Koppu landed at around 7:00 a.m. in Beidou township of Taishan city in Guangdong, packing winds of 126 km/hour at its eye, said the observatory.
More than 26,000 boats were ordered to return to harbor and 110 offshore oilfield workers were evacuated Monday in Hainan Province in anticipation of Koppu's arrival.
Shipping services across the southern Qiongzhou Strait have been suspended since Monday afternoon because of the threat of the typhoon, the Hainan provincial maritime affairs bureau said.
In Guangdong, 52,600 fishing boats have returned to harbor.
(Xinhua News Agency September 15, 2009)
