China lashed by year's first typhoon

China’s first typhoon of the year brought gales and rain to its southern shores as forecasters warned of record rainfall and high disaster risk in provinces including Guangdong, the country’s most populous. Typhoon Chaba, the Thai name for the hibiscus flower, was moving northwest at 15 to 20 km per hour after the eye of the storm made landfall in Guangdong’s Maoming city on Saturday afternoon, the National Meteorological Center said. Chaba, though medium in intensity and expected to lose strength over time, is likely to bring extremely heavy rains and may break the record for cumulative rainfall as it pulls the monsoon rain belt in the region inland, said Gao Shuanzhu, the centre’s chief forecaster. – Reuters