GUANGZHOU: Gale force winds and heavy rainstorms lashed western Guangdong 
Province yesterday evening, as Typhoon Prapiroon made landfall.
 
 
 | 
    Two young woman's umbrella is blew sideways as 
 they walk through the wind on a Hong Kong street as typhoon Prapiroon 
 slammed into southern China Thursday, Aug 3, 2006, bringing heavy winds 
 and rain. Thousands of people were evacuated. 
 [Xinhua]
  | 
The typhoon whose name means 'god of rain' in Thai came inland between 
Yangjiang and Dianbai at 7:20 pm, bringing winds up to gale force 12.
More than a quarter of a million people were evacuated from the area, which 
has been battered by successive typhoons over the summer, and 40,000 ships were 
called into Guangdong's harbours.
Sources with the Guangdong provincial flood control and drought relief office 
said emergency measures had been drawn up before the typhoon's arrival, with 
ships called to harbour by noon yesterday. Prapiroon is expected to hit the 
province even more ferociously than previous typhoons this year.
The office, together with the State Flood Control and Drought Relief 
Headquarters, sent two special working groups early yesterday morning, to deal 
with possible natural disasters triggered by Prapiroon.
Foul weather, such as heavy rain and powerful winds, is expected to continue 
to plague the Pearl River Delta region after Prapiroon moves on. The typhoon is 
expected to head northwest to the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region this morning, 
Lin Liangxun, chief forecaster of the Guangdong Provincial Meteorological Bureau 
said in an interview with China Daily.
Ahead of Prapiroon's arrival, Guangdong and the neighbouring Hong Kong and 
Macao regions have experienced heavy rain and strong winds since Wednesday 
night.
"The rains in the western part of the Pearl River Delta region are expected 
to last until Saturday," said Lin.
In provincial capital Guangzhou, heavy rain, whipped up by gale force eight 
winds, began falling yesterday afternoon, causing rush hour traffic jams in most 
urban areas.
At least 19 flights leaving to and from Hong Kong were grounded as of 2 pm 
yesterday because of the heavy rain, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
Ships between Hong Kong, Macao and Shenzhen and trains between Hong Kong and 
Shenzhen were also cancelled.
In Macao, which began experiencing rainstorms yesterday morning, most 
businesses and schools were forced to close for the day. Macao, which neighbours 
Zhuhai in western Guangdong, has opened three temporary shelters for affected 
residents.
The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has urged the 
relevant local government organizations to stay alert over Prapiroon, as the 
country has already been hard hit by five devastating typhoons this year.
The two previous typhoons, Billis and Kaemi, which landed in South China last 
month, killed more than 600 and brought huge economic losses.
It is predicted that more five or six more tropical storms will form around 
the South China Sea this month, with two or three making landfall, said Lin.
(China Daily 08/04/2006 page2)