Typhoon threatens southern coast

Students are released at Changmao Garden School in Haikou, Hainan province, on Sunday. Schools in 10 cities and counties in Hainan will take a day off on Monday as Typhoon Khanun approaches. [Huang Yiming/China Daily]

High-speed trains and flights have been delayed or canceled, and schools will be suspended in Hainan and Guangdong provinces, because of an approaching typhoon that is forecast to make landfall in the early hours of Monday along China's southern coast, the National Meteorological Center said on Sunday.

Schools in the cities of Sanya and Haikou, Hainan province, will be closed on Monday because of expected torrential rains and winds from Typhoon Khanun, the 20th typhoon of the year. Shenzhen and Zhuhai, in Guangdong, suspended schools on Sunday, according to the cities' governments.

In addition, as of Sunday at 11 am, 262 arrival and departure flights were canceled in Haikou, as winds have strengthened since Saturday night, the center said.

High-speed trains on Hainan island have been suspended since early Sunday, while ferries connecting the province with Guangdong on the mainland were also suspended starting on Saturday morning. It is unknown when they will restart.

"The typhoon is likely to make landfall on the coast between Zhanjiang, Guangdong, and Wenchang, Hainan, in the early hours of Monday," said Zhang Ling, chief forecaster at the center, adding: "It will be at its peak when it makes landfall."