Vietnam and China have rushed to prepare coastal communities for the arrival of a typhoon that devastated parts of the central Philippines.
Weather agencies predicted Typhoon Haiyan would make landfall near northern Vietnam's border with China early Monday, local time.
The U.S. Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center said the storm had maximum sustained winds of 139 kilometers an hour near its center late Sunday.
It was expected to weaken as it moved northwest over the Gulf of Tonkin, possibly losing its typhoon status and being downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it reaches land.
Vietnamese authorities evacuated more than 600,000 people from coastal areas to shelters and urged the public to prepare enough food and supplies to last for three days. They also ordered vessels to return to port.
Vietnamese media said the typhoon already had killed at least six people as it brushed past the country's central provinces.
The storm was expected to bring heavy rain to the capital, Hanoi, located in the country's north. All schools in the region were instructed to remain closed on Monday.
Courtesy Taiwan Central Weather Bureau
Chinese state news agency Xinhua said the government issued a red warning for Haiyan - the highest on its four-color warning system. The typhoon brought torrential rain to the southern Chinese island of Hainan on Sunday and was expected to do the same as it entered Guangdong province on Monday.
Xinhua said authorities had relocated 133,000 residents to shelters on Hainan, where the storm triggered power outages and forced flight cancellations affecting thousands of passengers.
The state news agency said six crew members were missing after their cargo vessel got lost in the South China Sea.
Weather agencies predicted Typhoon Haiyan would make landfall near northern Vietnam's border with China early Monday, local time.
The U.S. Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center said the storm had maximum sustained winds of 139 kilometers an hour near its center late Sunday.
It was expected to weaken as it moved northwest over the Gulf of Tonkin, possibly losing its typhoon status and being downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it reaches land.
Vietnamese authorities evacuated more than 600,000 people from coastal areas to shelters and urged the public to prepare enough food and supplies to last for three days. They also ordered vessels to return to port.
Vietnamese media said the typhoon already had killed at least six people as it brushed past the country's central provinces.
The storm was expected to bring heavy rain to the capital, Hanoi, located in the country's north. All schools in the region were instructed to remain closed on Monday.
Courtesy Taiwan Central Weather Bureau
Chinese state news agency Xinhua said the government issued a red warning for Haiyan - the highest on its four-color warning system. The typhoon brought torrential rain to the southern Chinese island of Hainan on Sunday and was expected to do the same as it entered Guangdong province on Monday.
Xinhua said authorities had relocated 133,000 residents to shelters on Hainan, where the storm triggered power outages and forced flight cancellations affecting thousands of passengers.
The state news agency said six crew members were missing after their cargo vessel got lost in the South China Sea.
