China suspends ferry services as typhoon Mangkhut set to hit coast

China suspended ferry services in the Qiongzhou Strait on Saturday as super typhoon Mangkhut approached the southern provinces of Hainan and Guangdong, according to local authorities.

Mangkhut is expected to land in an area between western Guangdong and eastern Hainan on Sunday night, packing strong gales and bringing tremendous downpours, said the local weather bureau.

Mangkhut was moving north-westward at a speed of 26 km per hour at 8 am, about 1,000 km away from the city of Yangjiang, Guangdong Province, said China's National Meteorological Centre.

The Qiongzhou Strait separates the Leizhou Peninsula in Guangdong from Hainan Island.

The provincial maritime administration has dispatched helicopters and tugboats to transfer 3,238 offshore platform workers and ordered 6,266 ships to take precautions against the typhoon, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Construction of roads and bridges across the province has been suspended to make preparations for the upcoming typhoon, said the report.

The strong typhoon packing winds of more than 200 kph (124 mph) hit across the northern tip of the Philippines on Saturday, bringing heavy rain and causing widespread power and communications outage.

-PTI