Typhoon Mangkhut: 170,000 Guangdong residents evacuated ahead of estimated landfall

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Super typhoon Mangkhut is likely to reach China within hours. With winds of 180-kilometers per hour, it's now just 600 kilometers away from the city of Yangjiang in Guangdong Province. Cui Hui'ao finds out how the city is preparing for the storm.

The silence before the storm. More than a thousand ships are now docked at the Zhapo Harbor in Yangjiang City. Over 4-thousand fishermen and fish farmers are now on land, unable to work. The message is clear, stay put or you're on your own.

ZHENG CHANGLIAN, ZHAPO HARBOR TEAM CAPTAIN FISHERY ADMINISTRATION OF GUANGDONG PROVINCE "We're adopting more precautions than we did during Typhoon Hagupit in 2008. We are working 24/7 to deal with both typhoon and fireproofing work. They are all lined up closely to one another. If a fire were to break out, the consequences would be disastrous."

Meanwhile, all tourist sites have been shut down ahead of Mangkhut's landfall. Nearly 170 thousand people were evacuated. The preemptive evacuation also included thousands of cultural relics at this local museum. They were salvaged from an ancient sunken ship and are now being transferred to a safe location.

ZENG CHAOQUN, CURATOR MARITIME SILK ROAD MUSEUM OF GUANGDONG "We are transferring 2000 relics to a warehouse, mostly vulnerable objects like gold and silver items and ceramics. We worry the entire museum could be flooded. A dozen staff are going to work until midnight to continue moving out some of the items. The last time we initiated this kind of process was during super typhoon Hato last year."

CUI HUI'AO YANGJIANG, GUANGDONG PROVINCE "Coastal areas in Guangdong province including Yangjiang city where I'm at are going to be hit hard. Experts warn this typhoon could trigger landslides and floods. And now preparations are underway to minimize the potential damage."