Typhoon Matmo hits southern China during peak holiday season

Typhoon Matmo hit southern China on Sunday, the state broadcaster said, after flights and many events had been cancelled in the island province of Hainan, causing disruption in a peak holiday season.

Matmo, which caused flooding in the Philippines last week, made landfall on the east coast of Xuwen in Guangdong province around 2:50 p.m. (0650 GMT).

It was generating winds of 151 kph (94 mph) as it approached China's coastline, the national meteorological centre said.

The typhoon was arriving in the middle of the eight-day holiday that started with National Day on Wednesday, during which people are expected to make around 2.36 billion trips, according to estimates reported by state media.

Flights and ferries in the holiday hub of Hainan had already been cancelled from Saturday evening in anticipation of Matmo's strong winds and heavy rains.