Update
Hong Kong and southern China took cover on Sunday as strong winds and heavy rain from Typhoon Mangkhut lashed the densely populated coast, a day after the biggest storm to hit the Philippines this year left at least 64 people dead.
Two more people were killed as the storm made landfall in southern China, according to Chinese state broadcaster CGTN.
More than 2.4 million people had been evacuated from seven cities in Guangdong province of China, according to The Associated Press news agency.
In Hong Kong, authorities warned people to stay away from the Victoria Harbour landmark, where storm surges battered the waterfront reinforced with sandbags.
The gambling enclave of Macau, meanwhile, closed its casinos for the first time, according to the South China Morning Post, as nearly 50,000 fishing boats were called back to port.
Mangkhut made landfall in Guangdong around 5pm local time (09:00 GMT) on Sunday, packing wind speeds of 162 km/h, while 10-metre-high waves battered the coastline.
The national meteorological centre said southern China “will face a severe test caused by wind and rain” and urged officials to prepare for possible disasters.
Earlier
A super typhoon swirled towards Hong Kong and the Chinese coast on Sunday, gaining in strength over the South China Sea after hurtling through the Philippines, where it wreaked havoc that killed at least 25.
Tropical cyclone Mangkhut is considered the strongest to hit the region this year, packing gale-force winds of more than 200-kilometre-per-hour equivalent to a maximum Category 5 “intense hurricane” in the Atlantic.
Philippine authorities said at least 25 people were killed, including a baby and a toddler, most of them in landslides in mountainous areas that left at least 13 missing.“The landslides happened as some residents returned to their homes after the typhoon,” disaster response coordinator Francis Tolentino said on DZMM Radio, adding that 5.7 million people had been affected and most were prepared.
