Hong Kong, other parts of south China grind to near standstill as Super Typhoon Saola edges closer

Most of Hong Kong and other parts of southern China ground to a near standstill Friday with classes and flights canceled as Super Typhoon Saola edged closer. The typhoon could make a landfall in southern China and many workers stayed at home.

Students in various cities saw the start of their school year postponed to next week. Hong Kong’s stock market trading was suspended and more than 400 flights were canceled or delayed in the key center for regional business and travel.

Mainland Chinese rail authorities ordered all trains entering or leaving Guangdong province to be suspended from Friday night to early evening Saturday, state media CCTV reported. 

The Hong Kong Observatory raised a No. 8 typhoon signal, the third-highest warning under the city’s weather system, early Friday.

 The finance hub issued a T8 threat warning – the city’s third-highest – at about 2:40 am local time on Friday (18:40 GMT on Thursday).

Saola’s wind speeds topped 205 kilometers per hour as it came within 230km east-southeast of the financial hub at about 8:00 am local time (00:00 GMT), Hong Kong’s observatory said.