Typhoon Neoguri Hits China’s Hainan

From AP:

Typhoon Neoguri weakened into a tropical storm Friday after hitting China’s southern island province of Hainan, where 120,000 people fled low-lying areas and thousands more were stranded at an airport, state-run media reported.

The typhoon — the first to threaten China this year — began lashing the city of Wenchang on Hainan’s northeast coast late Friday night. Xinhua News Agency reported it blacked out the city but Neoguri, which means “raccoon” in Korean, had been packing winds of 75 mph before weakening to tropical storm strength at 67 mph.

About 3,000 passengers were stranded at the airport in the provincial capital, Haikou, after 76 flights were canceled because of Neoguri, the report said.

Read also Typhoon Neoguri reaches land in south China, weakens from Xinhua.