Hong Kong, southern China brace for typhoon

MANILA, Philippine - In Fujian province, 51,000 people were evacuated from fishing boats.

Southern China is bracing for Typhoon Mangkhut, which is currently pummeling the northern Philippines, by halting ferry services, evacuating tens of thousands of fishermen and sending boats back to port.
In Fujian province, 51,000 people were evacuated from fishing boats and around 11,000 vessels returned to port on Saturday morning.
China's National Meteorological Center issued an alert saying Mangkhut would make landfall somewhere on the coast in Guangdong province on Sunday afternoon or night, packing strong winds and heavy rains.
In nearby Hong Kong, Security Minister John Lee Ka-chiu urged residents to prepare for the worst as Mangkhut barreled toward the southern Chinese city.
Cathay Pacific says all flights will be canceled between 2:30 am local time on Sunday and 4 a.m. Monday.
The Hawaii-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center has downgraded Mangkhut from a super typhoon to an equivalent of a category 4 hurricane, after making landfall in the northeastern Philippines before dawn Saturday.
The Philippine government has reported no casualties so far as the typhoon continued to pummel Luzon with heavy rains and gusts. Transportation has ground to a halt as many roads are flooded and airports closed.
 According to JTWC, Mangkhut is packing maximum sustained winds of 115 knots, or 212 kilometers (130 miles) per hour. The Philippine weather agency has slightly lower numbers.