China lashed by year's first typhoon as rains forecast are at record levels

A family takes a selfie amid heavy rain at a promenade next to Victoria Harbour as Typhoon Chaba passes Hong Kong on July 2, 2022. - AFP

SHANGHAI, July 3 (Reuters): China's first typhoon of the year brought gales and rain to its southern shores on Saturday (July 2), as forecasters warned of record rainfall and high disaster risk in provinces including Guangdong, the country's most populous.

Typhoon Chaba, the Thai name for the hibiscus flower, was moving northwest at 15 to 20 km (10 to 15 miles) per hour after the eye of the storm made landfall in Guangdong's Maoming city on Saturday afternoon, the National Meteorological Center said in a statement.