Typhoon Chanchu roars towards China

Hong Kong: Typhoon Chanchu, packing 98 mph winds, veered to the east on Wednesday and spared Hong Kong before roaring toward mainland China's southern coast, where local media reported more than 180,000 people were evacuated.

Chanchu's eye was picking up speed and was expected to hit Guangdong province, one of China's biggest manufacturing centers, early Thursday, the Hong Kong Observatory said.

As the storm churned through the South China Sea, it caused an oil tanker to run aground near Taiwan's southern port of Kaohsiung, officials said. 13 crewmembers were lifted off the ship.

Chanchu swept over the Philippines last weekend, killing 37 people and destroying thousands of homes.

The typhoon, the strongest ever reported in the South China Sea in May, was heading toward Hong Kong earlier this week, but it changed course overnight, swirling about 140 miles east of the city on Wednesday.

The storm kicked up high waves and spawned squalls but caused no major damage.

Hong Kong ordered kindergartens to close on Wednesday along with schools for mentally handicapped children. Some ferry services to outlying islands were suspended.

A teenager in southern Japan drowned and another was reported missing amid high waves off Hateruma Island in the southern island chain of Okinawa, officials said. A third teenager was rescued, according to coast guard spokesman Shoji Kawabata.

After slamming into Guangdong, Chanchu was expected to churn up the coast to Fujian province, just across from Taiwan, according to the observatory's forecast and tracking map.

More than 180,000 people were reported to have evacuated from coastal areas in Guangdong, China's state-run Xinhua. The province also called 25,219 ships back to port, Xinhua said.

The storm picked up speed as it moved at 15 mph with winds of 98 mph near its center.

Taiwan's weather bureau forecast flooding on Wednesday and Thursday on the outlying islands of Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu. Schools in Kinmen would close on Thursday because of the storm, officials said.

The weather bureau also warned residents of areas along Taiwan's western coastline against the danger of flooding and landslides.