Hundreds of flights canceled in Hong Kong, China's Guangdong as Typhoon Saola nears

Three tropical cyclones have formed in the northwest Pacific Ocean and South China Sea, with Saola and Haikui already labeled typhoons while Kirogi, the most distant from land, still classified as a tropical storm, according to weather forecasters.

Saola is packing winds of more than 200 kph (125 mph) and is moving towards the coast of eastern Guangdong, the province which encompasses Hong Kong. It could be among the five strongest typhoons to hit Guangdong since 1949, Chinese authorities said on Thursday as they issued their highest typhoon warning.

Saola could make landfall Friday night or Saturday morning as a severe typhoon along the coast from Huidong to Taishan in Guangdong, China's National Meteorological Center said. Hong Kong and neighboring Macau lie in the center of that coastline.

All schools in Hong Kong are closed on Friday, despite being the first day of term for many, the government said.

"We can see that the eye of the typhoon will pass very close to Hong Kong. I'm a bit concerned and hope it won't cause too many casualties," said Wai Yi, 58, in the city's eastern Heung Fa Chuen area.

Nearby cities Shenzhen and Guangzhou also closed schools, while tech hub Shenzhen went a step further, suspending work, businesses and financial markets from Friday afternoon.

In Hong Kong on Thursday, crowds were seen jostling at fresh food markets in downtown Wan Chai district with many vegetables already sold out. Supermarkets saw long queues with people stocking up ahead of the storm.

The city's flagship carrier Cathay Pacific said all flights in and out of Hong Kong between 2 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. on Saturday have been canceled.

Further flight delays and cancelations may be required based on the typhoon's path on Saturday morning, it said.

By 10:55 a.m. Friday, Zhuhai and Shenzhen airports canceled hundreds of flights, data from Flight Master showed.

Guangdong authorities suspended all trains in and out of the province from 8 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Saturday.

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge that connects the three cities will be closed from 3:30 p.m. on Friday to ensure of transport safety, the local Southern Metropolis Daily reported, without giving a date for opening of the bridge.

Macau's Weather Observatory said it would raise its wind warning level to Signal 8 by 2 p.m. on Friday. It said it could raise it to the highest Signal 10 early on Saturday morning.

Meanwhile, Typhoon Haikui is approaching Taiwan and expected to make landfall on the northern part of the island on Sunday before heading towards the southeastern Chinese city of Fuzhou, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau.

The Taishan Nuclear Power plant in Guangdong said on its official Wechat account it had halted outdoor operations and transferred vulnerable materials from the plant. Emergency staff are on duty and all personnel and facilities at the base are safe, it said.