A car is covered under a fallen tree in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian province, Aug 11, 2020. Typhoon Mekkhala, the sixth this year, made landfall at around 7:30 am Tuesday in Zhangpu County, east China's Fujian province, bringing gales of up to 33 meters per second near its eye, according to local meteorological authorities. (ZENG DEMENG / XINHUA)

FUZHOU - Typhoon Mekkhala, the sixth this year, made landfall at around 7:30 am Tuesday in Zhangpu county, east China's Fujian province, bringing gales of up to 33 meters per second near its eye, according to local meteorological authorities.

The Xiamen flood control office said that more than 5,600 fishing ships had returned to ports and over 3,200 people had been evacuated to land

The gales and heavy rains have disrupted local traffic. Some trains have been ordered to stop services in the province. Gaoqi airport in the coastal city of Xiamen canceled 51 outbound flights on Monday and 38 flights on Tuesday morning.

The Xiamen flood control office said that more than 5,600 fishing ships had returned to ports and over 3,200 people had been evacuated to land.

Passenger ferries were ordered to suspend services in affected areas, and tourist attractions and construction sites were ordered to close.

An advertisement board is blown down by strong winds brought by Typhoon Mekkhala on a road in Zhangpu County of Zhangzhou, southeast China's Fujian province, Aug 11, 2020. (WEI PEIQUAN / XINHUA)

Local firefighters have helped evacuated trapped tourists at a resort village in Zhangpu county.

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China's national observatory on Monday issued a yellow alert for Typhoon Mekkhala, which will bring gales to the country's eastern and southern coastal regions. China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe weather, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

Advertisement boards are blown down by strong winds brought by Typhoon Mekkhala in Qianting Town of Zhangpu County, Zhangzhou, southeast China's Fujian province, Aug 11, 2020. (WEI PEIQUAN / XINHUA)

Meteorological authorities forecast that the typhoon will move northwestward and start to weaken after the landfall. On Tuesday, central and southern Fujian will experience downpours, with some areas seeing up to 200 mm of rainfall.

Firefighters guide trapped tourists through debris at a resort village in Zhangpu county, East China's Fujian province, on Aug 11, 2020. (GE HAO AND WU YUANLIN / CHINA DAILY)

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Mekkhala was the second typhoon that landed in coastal areas of east China over the past week. Last Tuesday, Hagupit, the fourth typhoon of this year, landed in east China's Zhejiang province, packing winds of 38 meters per second near its center. 

Firefighters help evacuate trapped tourists at a resort village in Zhangpu county, East China's Fujian province, on Aug 11, 2020. (GE HAO AND WU YUANLIN / CHINA DAILY)