Typhoon Wipha forces evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people in southern China
The storm is battering Guangdong province and Hong Kong with wind speeds of up to 150 km/h
The China Meteorological Administration issued an orange typhoon warning, the second highest level in the four-tier system, on Sunday.
The typhoon made landfall in Taishan city in Guangdong province just before 6pm on Sunday. Wind speeds of up to 118 km/h (73mph) were recorded near the centre, but the typhoon weakened to a severe tropical storm shortly after landfall, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
The storm, which had already battered Taiwan and the Philippines, also caused strong winds and heavy rain in the neighbouring provinces of Fujian and Hainan as well as Hong Kong, where a No 10 typhoon alert was raised.
Guangdong was braced for heavy rain, with some areas facing extreme downpours and several rivers at risk of flooding, the official newspaper Guangzhou Daily reported.
It said more than 12,000 people had been evacuated from the sea, while 266,000 residents had been evacuated on land.