After killing more than 20 people in the Philippines and lashing Taiwan, where dozens are reported missing, “super-typhoon” Megi is poised to make landfall in South China today or Saturday.  Typhoon Megi is the the strongest storm to hit the region in more than a decade.

Southern China awaits slow-moving super-typhoon

Authorities in south-eastern China evacuated more residents and mobilized rescue teams on Thursday amid fears that the approaching Typhoon Megi could prove the most powerful storm to hit the area for at least two decades.

Some 150,000 people were evacuated in Fujian province, adding to at least 140,000 evacuated in the nearby island province of Hainan, state media said.

As it crossed the South China Sea after killing 19 people in the Philippines, the super-typhoon slowed almost to a standstill on Thursday.

Meteorologists said the typhoon was expected to hit land early Saturday in Guangdong province, which borders Hong Kong and lies between Hainan and Fujian.

Guangdong Vice Governor Li Ronggen on Wednesday warned that Megi could be more destructive than Typhoon Hagupit, which killed 22 people in Guangdong in 2008.

‘From what we see so far, its power will exceed Hagupit, which hit Guangdong directly in 2008, and it may cause very severe damage to Guangdong province,’ the official Xinhua news agency quoted Li as saying.

Weather forecasters warned that Megi could be the strongest typhoon to hit southern China in 20 years and could bring the highest tides for 200 years to some coastal areas.