Typhoon Krovanh moved into south China's Guangdong and Hainan provinces yesterday, the 12th typhoon to hit China this year.

Krovanh arrived in southern Guangdong at about 6:30 am yesterday.

It continued west and reached the Leizhou Peninsula five hours later. It then travelled to waters south of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Maritime transport across the Qiongzhou Straits was stopped at 6 am on Sunday and had still not resumed by last night, according to sources.

But flights from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport to Hainan and to Zhanjiang in southwestern Guangdong did not stop until 10 pm on Sunday. They had resumed by 3:20 pm yesterday.

Zhanjiang prepared fully to fight the typhoon in a bid to minimize losses.

Some 16,000 vessels safely berthed in the harbour. Another 415 vessels anchored in harbours elsewhere because they were out at sea and could not sail back to Zhanjiang in time.

Moreover, 13,445 mainly elderly, poor or disabled residents living in ramshackle houses in Zhangjiang were transferred to safe locations.

By noon yesterday, the wind in southwestern Guangdong blew at between force 7 and 10. The wind in areas hit by the eye of the typhoon was force 12.

Guangdong's capital city Guangzhou was also affected by Typhoon Krovanh, with showers and lower temperatures, even though the city is about 400 kilometres away from the eye of the typhoon.

The typhoon also affected most regions in northern Hainan Province, the island province south of Guangdong, yesterday. It injured three people and caused serious economic losses.

Hundreds of hectares of fish farms were flooded and many ships in harbour were destroyed by the typhoon.

(China Daily August 26, 2003)