Chinese authorities evacuated over 800,000 people, cancelled hundreds of flights as super-typhoon with wind gusts of up to 200kmph heads toward the country’s southeastern coast

Chinese authorities have evacuated more than 800,000 people and cancelled hundreds of flights as a super-typhoon with wind gusts of up to 200kmph headed toward the country’s southeastern coast.

Typhoon Chan-hom is expected to hit land on Saturday afternoon between the coastal cities of Ruian and Zhoushan, south of Shanghai, according to China’s national weather service. It said the typhoon might be the most powerful to hit China since 1949.

About 865,000 people were evacuated from coastal areas of Zhejiang province, the provincial Civil Affairs Bureau said. The provincial flood control bureau said 28,764 ships had been ordered back to port by late Friday.

The country’s railway service said more than 100 trains between the region’s cities were cancelled through Sunday.

All flights into and out of Zhoushan were cancelled and bus services and speedboat ferry services halted. Elsewhere in Zhejiang, 388 flights were cancelled in Hangzhou, 34 in Ningbo and 37 in Wenzhou, according to the provincial government.

Several area cities suspended inter-city bus services.