Storms and heavy rain lash China’s Hainan Island as Typhoon Yagi makes landfall after sweeping south of Hong Kong, forcing about a million people to flee their homes.

The Hainan Provincial Weather Service said winds of about 245 km/h were sweeping the region.

China’s national meteorological authorities said Yagi was the strongest autumn typhoon to hit China. They predicted it would make a landfall in Xuwen County in neighboring Guangdong Province on Friday night.

Earlier, nearly 420,000 residents evacuated areas in Hainan, while the same number reached half a million in Guangdong province, state media reported.

The storm brought heavy rain to most of Hainan and some areas suffered power outages. Strong winds hit the province. People built sandbag barriers outside buildings to protect themselves from possible flooding, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported.

State media reported that schools, transport and businesses had been suspended in parts of the province as of Wednesday afternoon. Some tourist attractions were closed and all flights at the island’s three airports were expected to stop on Friday.

State broadcaster CCTV said the city of Qinzhou in Guangxi region also issued an emergency response notice for the typhoon. He said Yagi was expected to make another landfall somewhere between the district’s city of Fangchenggang and the northern Vietnamese coastal region on Saturday afternoon. The city of Beihai suspended the operation of schools, businesses and transportation on Friday, local media reported.

Earlier, trading in the stock market, banking services and schools were halted in Hong Kong after the city’s meteorological authorities issued alert No. 8 for Yagi, the third-highest warning under the city’s meteorological system.

Yagi forced more than 270 people to seek shelter in temporary government shelters and led to the cancellation of more than 100 flights in the city. Nine people were injured and taken to hospitals. Dozens of trees fell from the heavy rain and strong winds.

Yagi slammed into the northwestern Philippines in the South China Sea on Wednesday, leaving at least 16 people dead and another 17 missing, affecting more than 2 million people.

More than 47,600 people were displaced from their homes in provinces across the Philippines while operations ground to a halt for ten days in several cities, including the densely populated capital Manila.