BANGKOK: Typhoon Matmo strengthened Sunday in China, prompting the government to evacuate some 347,000 people from the southern provinces of Guangdong and Hainan. The typhoon had maximum sustained wind speeds of 151 kph on Sunday morning, according to China’s National Meteorological Center. It hit Zhanjiang in Guangdong around mid-afternoon Sunday. The weather authority issued a red-level typhoon warning, the highest in its system. Hainan, which is also in the pathway of the storm, canceled flights and shut down public transport and businesses starting Saturday in preparation for the storm.

Matmo has regained strength, becoming a typhoon again as it left the Philippines and moved toward southern China’s Hainan province, after it had earlier weakened into a storm.

Airport Authority says 29 flights have been cancelled because of the storm.