Heavy downpour fell on Macao when Tropical Storm Fengshen (God of Wind) went past the island city Wednesday, leading to the suspension of local schools in the morning.

The tropical cyclone warning signal, hoisted by the Macao Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau (SMG) at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, was still in force Wednesday morning.

The bad weather prompted local education authorities to call off classes in local schools and crches, and defer all sorts of exams which were scheduled to take place Wednesday.

The severe tropical cyclone, heading toward southeast China, gathered 110 km southeast off Macao's coast earlier this morning, moving northwest by north toward Hong Kong, where strong wind warning signal No.8 has been hoisted, according to the SMG.

The storm made its landfall in the coastal area of Southeastern China at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday morning with winds blowing up to 83 kilometers per hour, according to the meteorological station in the Guangdong province.

All Macao to Hong Kong ferry services, which were stopped at 10: 45 p.m. Tuesday night, continued to be suspended Wednesday morning, while some of the flights in the Macao International Airport were canceled and delayed.

Thunderstorm warning was cancelled by the SMG earlier Wednesday morning as the cyclone further moved away from Macao.

The government has provided a number of facilities for local homeless people to take shelter in amid the storm.

(Xinhua News Agency June 25, 2008)