SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China's eastern Zhejiang province has evacuated over 200,000 residents as it braces itself for a powerful typhoon that could be the worst in the area in years, the provincial government said on its website.
Typhoon Muifa is due to hit China's eastern seaboard this weekend with winds up to 45 meters a second (100 mph). News of the typhoon prompted the suspension of operations at several oil, dry bulk and container ports in the area on Friday.
Typhoon Muifa is expected to land in Zhejiang late on Saturday, the Zhejiang government said on its website.
Provincial government officials have evacuated about 206,664 people from low-lying coastal areas.
Authorities have also ordered more than 4,000 vessels to return to harbor in Ningbo and Taizhou.
China's meteorological authorities said on Saturday that the typhoon will bring heavy rains to the country's coastal regions while scorching heat is expected to linger in the southern regions over the next three days.
(Reporting by Melanie Lee and Helen Ding, Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)
