All flights and ferries on resort island Hainan cancelled
HONG KONG – Chinese authorities were preparing to cancel all flights and ferries serving Hainan on Saturday night before Typhoon Matmo strikes, disrupting a peak holiday travel period for the southern resort island.
All flights to and from the international airport in the provincial capital Haikou were expected to be cancelled from 11pm local time Saturday, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Matmo has been forecast to bring strong winds and heavy rain to southern China, including Guangdong and Yunnan provinces.
The Maritime Safety Bureau in the resort city of Sanya also said all tourist ships and ferries would be prohibited in its jurisdiction from 6pm.
Matmo, which caused flooding in the Philippines this week, is expected to make landfall around noon on Sunday after approaching east of Hainan with an expected maximum wind force of 42-48 metres per second.
Haikou planned to halt all schools, work and transport from Saturday afternoon to Sunday, Xinhua said, while the port city Zhanjiang in Guangdong would do the same.
During the eight-day holiday that started with China’s National Day on Oct 1, people are expected to make around 2.36 billion trips, with the daily average forecast to be up 3.2% from the same period last year, Xinhua said on Wednesday.
Haikou had planned nearly 150 cultural events and more than 10 sports competitions during the holiday period, while Sanya had planned 170 art and tourism activities, according to Hainan’s official social media channels.
The state broadcaster CCTV, citing meteorological experts, asked the public to stay vigilant as Matmo will have a serious impact on tourism and transport during a busy period for travel.
The Hong Kong Observatory raised its tropical cyclone warning signal to Strong Wind Signal No. 3 at noon and said it would assess the need for higher signals later on Saturday.
The city has issued 12 tropical cyclone warning signals this year, the most since 1946, the observatory said on Friday.
