Hong Kong typhoon: Mangkhut lashes southern China with ferocious winds and biblical rain after killing 29 in Philippines

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Jacob Jarvis16 September 2018

Typhoon Mangkhut is lashing Hong Kong and southern China with ferocious winds and biblical rain after killing at least 29 in the Philippines.

The colossal storm has devastated the northern tip of the Philippines and sparked biblical rain and strong winds in Hong Kong and southern China before it had even made landfall there.

Nearly half a million people have been evacuated from seven cities in Guangdong, the gambling enclave of Macau closed down casinos and the Hong Kong Observatory warned people to stay away from the Victoria Harbour landmark where storm surges were battering the waterfront.

Officials have urged those in Hong Kong and southern China to "prepare for the worst" and said the areas will face a "severe test by wind and rain".

One dramatic image showed rescue workers in protective gear carrying a child from a collapsed school building in Hong Kong.

A child is rescued from a collapsed school
Getty Images

In the Philippines, national police director, General Oscar Albayalde, said 20 people had died in the Cordillera mountain region.

Four in nearby Nueva Vizcaya province and another outside of the two regions were also killed.

A woman stands on Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong during Typhoon Mangkhut
AP

Three more deaths have been reported in northeastern Cagayan province.

Filipino villagers view what is left of their home in the typhoon-hit town of Baggao, Cagayan province.
EPA

Among the fatalities were an infant and a two-year-old child, said Francis Tolentino, an adviser to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

The pair died with their parents after the couple refused to immediately evacuate their high-risk community in a Nueva Vizcaya mountain town.

Speaking of the children, Mr Tolentino said: "They can't decide for themselves where to go."

Rescue workers help a woman to safety
AFP/Getty Images

He also stated at least two other people are classified as missing. Mayor Mauricio Domogan said at least three people died and six others were missing in his mountain city of Baguio after the adverse conditions decimated homes and prompted landslides.

It was not immediately clear whether the dead and missing had been included in the overall death toll.

Some 87,000 people had evacuated from high-risk areas of the Philippines to protect them from the disaster.

A man wades through floodwaters in the village of Lei Yu Mun during Super Typhoon Mangkhut
AFP/Getty Images

The typhoon, also known as Ompong, is the biggest storm to hit anywhere in the world this year.

It brought with it gusts of up to 305 kilometres per hour, around 190 miles per hour.

Aerial shot of flooded rice fields due to heavy rains brought about by Typhoon Mangkhut near Alacala, Cagayan province.
AFP/Getty Images

Hong Kong and southern China have gone into red alert as it began to lash the heavily populated coastline.

Nearly half a million people had been evacuated from seven cities in Guangdong province.

The gambling enclave of Macau closed down casinos for the first time.

The Hong Kong Observatory warned people to stay away from the Victoria Harbour landmark, where storm surges battered the waterfront, which has been reinforced with sandbags.

Mangkhut is due to make landfall in Guangdong later on Sunday.

The national meteorological centre said southern China "will face a severe test caused by wind and rain" and officials were urged to prepare for possible disasters.

On Sunday morning, the typhoon packed sustained winds of 155 kilometres, 96 miles, per hour and gusts of up to 190 kph, 118 mph.

The Hong Kong Observatory said although Mangkhut had weakened slightly, its rainbands were bringing heavy downfall.

Strong wind caused by Typhoon Mangkhut churns waves on the waterfront of Victoria Habour Hong Kong
AP

Hundreds of flights and rail services have been cancelled.

In Hong Kong, Security Minister John Lee Ka-chiu told residents to prepare for the worst.

"Because Mangkhut will bring winds and rains of extraordinary speeds, scope and severity, our preparation and response efforts will be greater than in the past," he said.

"Each department must have a sense of crisis, make a comprehensive assessment and plan, and prepare for the worst."

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