Typhoon Saola drenches China's key Hong Kong and Guangdong regions

Businesses were closed as Saola approached with winds of more than 200kph

Typhoon Saola made landfall in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on Saturday and drenched a vast region.

Powerful winds lashed nearby Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macau, killing at least one and leaving a trail of destruction and flooding in many areas.

Hong Kong and Guangdong had cancelled hundreds of flights on Friday and shut businesses, schools and financial markets as Saola edged closer.

With wind speeds of more than 200kph, Saola was among the strongest storms to hit the region since 1949.

It made landfall in Zhuhai city with gusts slowing to about 160kph.

One person was killed in Shenzhen after a tree fell and hit their vehicle, local media reported.

Railway operations in Guangdong were allowed to gradually resume from 8.30am local time, the railway operator said.

Despite weakening, Saola continues to affect the region, Chinese authorities said.

Hong Kong imposed its highest hurricane storm signal 10 on Friday night, lowering it to 8 by Saturday morning.

More than 500 people sought refuge in government shelters while more than 50 people were admitted to hospitals due to the typhoon, the government said.

China's national weather office predicted Saola “may become the strongest typhoon to make landfall in the Pearl River Delta since 1949“, referring to a low-lying region that includes Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong province.

In eastern Heng Fa Chuen, a coastal residential area that was the site of devastation during 2018's Typhoon Mangkhut, officers in orange vests urged storm-watchers to go home, as trees leaned sideways from the heavy gusts.

“Members of the public should stay on high alert. You are advised to remain where you are if protected and be prepared for destructive winds of Saola,” the Hong Kong weather observatory had warned.

It added that “the maximum water level may reach a historical record”, warning that “there will be serious flooding”.

In Guangdong province, authorities evacuated more than 780,000 people from high-risk areas, while eastern Fujian province saw more than 100,000 moved to safer ground.

Southern China is frequently hit in summer and autumn by typhoons that form in the warm oceans east of the Philippines and then travel west.