An aerial view of damaged houses after typhoon Megi hit the coastal town of Maconacon, Isabela province, north of Manila October 20, 2010. Megi regained strength and headed for southern China on Wednesday after wreaking havoc across the northern Philippines, destroying thousands of homes and killing at least 11 people. – Reuters Photo

BEIJING: China has evacuated at least 160,000 people from the projected path of Typhoon Megi, authorities said Thursday as they braced for the strongest northwest Pacific storm since 1990.

More than 150,000 people have been evacuated in Fujian province in China's southeast and tens of thousands of fishing boats were called back to port, Xinhua news agency quoted the province's flood control authorities as saying.

At least another 10,000 were evacuated in neighbouring Guangdong province, authorities there said.

Chinese authorities on Wednesday also halted rail services in some areas as they awaited Megi, which has already wreaked havoc in the Philippines, killing at least 27 people. It is now making its way towards southern China, where it is expected to make landfall along the Guangdong-Fujian coast by the weekend.

“We expect that the strong winds and torrential rain brought by Megi will increase the probability of geological disasters happening in the south such as floods, land and mudslides,” the National Meteorological Centre said. – AFP