GUANGZHOU / BEIJING - Tapah, the 16th typhoon of this year, made landfall in south China's Guangdong province at about 8:50 am Monday, according to the provincial meteorological observatory. 

The typhoon, with the maximum wind force near its center reaching 30 meters per second, churned ashore at Jiangmen city of Guangdong. Meteorological authorities forecast that Tapah will continue moving northwest at about 20 km per hour, gradually weakening.

School closed, trains halted

Schools were closed, trains halted, ferries suspended and people evacuated as the typhoon approached South China's Guangdong province. 

Cities including Jiangmen, Maoming and Zhuhai raised typhoon warnings and announced school closures. Railway authorities said all trains on the Shenzhen-Zhanjiang and Guangzhou-Maoming lines will be suspended on Monday, with services expected to be gradually resumed Tuesday. 

Due to the suspension of the Guangdong-Hainan ferry service for cross-strait railway transportation, cross-sea trains to and from the island province of Hainan have also been canceled or rerouted. 

READ MORE: Typhoon Tapah

In Yangjiang city alone, authorities said by 9 am Sunday, a total of 1,785 workers had been evacuated from 26 offshore wind power platforms, along with 2,026 people from fish farms and 342 from marine ranches. 

Twelve coastal tourist sites have also been shut down. China's national observatory on Sunday renewed a yellow alert -- the third-highest level in its four-tier weather warning system -- for Tapah. 

Emergency flood control

China's Ministry of Water Resources on Sunday activated a Level-IV emergency flood control response in the southern Guangdong province and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, in anticipation of the typhoon. 

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According to the ministry, from Sept 7 to 10, the two provincial regions will see heavy rainfall triggered by Tapah. To cope with potential flooding, the ministry has held rolling consultations and made detailed arrangements for flood prevention. 

Local authorities have urged the close monitoring of rainfall, flood conditions and the typhoon's path, and strengthened forecasting and early warning procedures, as well as the ensured safe operations of reservoirs and ongoing projects. 

They were also instructed to step up dike inspections and enhance preparedness for floods in small and medium-sized rivers, mountain torrents and urban waterlogging to safeguard lives and property.