China today issued a red alert and evacuated half a million people as Typhoon Sarika hit south China’s Hainan, leading to cancellation of hundreds of flights in the island province. The tropical cyclone, packing maximum winds of 162 km per hour at its eye, landed at Hele Town, Wanning City at 9:50 am, according to the local meteorological bureau. The National Meteorological Centre issued a red alert, its highest-level alert, for Sarika, the 21st typhoon of the year named after a singing bird in Cambodia, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Nearly half a million people, including fishermen and residents in low-lying areas and unsafe houses in Hainan have been evacuated so far, Ding Sheng, a disaster relief official with the Hainan Civil Affairs Department said. The department has provided relief materials such as tents and quilts, food and water to the typhoon-affected areas, he said. Hundreds of trees were uprooted due to the storm in coastal Wanning. The municipal authorities said more than 1,37,000 residents have been evacuated, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

At the island’s main civil airport, Meilan International Airport in the provincial capital Haikou City, 250 flights were canceled this morning, authorities said. High speed train services have also been halted. Local traffic police reported that gales and wet roads caused a passenger bus carrying 45 people to overturn on one of Hainan’s major highways last night. However, there were no casualties.