More than two dozen crew members are missing from a ship which snapped in half after being hit by a tropical storm. Dramatic footage showed people being hoisted into a helicopter, with at least three of the 30-strong crew brought to safety. Read more:
Although the strength of the storm has now been downgraded,"extremely heavy" deluges are set to bring up to 24 inches of rainfall in some areas.
"The abundant monsoon water vapour will lead to intense downpours and huge cumulative rainfall of an extreme nature," said the NMC's chief forecaster, Gao Shuanzhu.Hong Kong authorities raised the typhoon warning on Thursday, just asto commemorate the 25th anniversary of its handover from Britain to China.
The Palace Museum, due to open on Saturday as part of celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to Chinese rule, remained closed.The treacherous conditions also forced businesses to close and triggered problems on public transport networks. Extreme weather including unusually heavy flooding has been forecast in China through August, with climate change said to be partly responsible.