Photo taken on July 24, 2017 shows a notice board outside the Xiuying Port in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, July 24, 2017. Affected by typhoon Sonca, passenger ships across the Qiongzhou Strait halted since 4:00 p.m. Monday. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)
HAIKOU, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Shipping services on Qiongzhou Strait, which connects China's Hainan and Guangdong provinces, were suspended Monday, due to the approaching Typhoon Sonca.
Packing winds of 70 km per hour, Sonca is moving northward at 5 km per hour and is expected to make landfall in Lingshui County or Sanya on Monday night or Tuesday morning, according to the provincial meteorological department.
More than 24,000 vessels from the island province of Hainan were instructed to return to port Monday, and passenger trains on the island had also been suspended, according to the provincial flood control office.
Some beach resorts, such as Sanya's West Islet and Lingshui's Fenjiezhou Resort, have also been closed.
Guangdong and Hainan provinces and Guangxi autonomous region will see Sonca bring torrential rain and gales in the coming days, according to the National Meteorological Center.
