Tropical storm Linfa plowed into eastern China's Fujian province on Sunday night, sending fishing boats scurrying for safety and closing the port of Xiamen.

The third tropical storm for this year, but the first to hit shore. Linfa swept into Dongshi Township in Jinjiang City late on Sunday evening, damaging crops and houses. Local governments are surveying the damage and determining compensation payments.

The provincial meteorological bureau said the storm brought heavy rains to coastal areas from Sunday night, as it moved northward.

Linfa is also packing heavy rainfall and strong winds in the Taiwan Strait. The shipping route between Xiamen and Jinmen was temporarily closed on Saturday. The Provincial Oceanic and Fisheries Bureau had recalled 30,000 fishing boats and about 163 thousand people working on these boats by Sunday evening.

The local government has also sent more than 10 million text messages to mobile phone users, asking them to stay abreast of the information on the storm.

Linfa formed in the South China Sea on Thursday afternoon. But by the time it swept into Fujian province on Sunday night, it had been downgraded from a strong tropical storm.