Strong tropical storm lands in south China

Waves hit the shore in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province, Oct. 4, 2011. Strong tropical storm Nalgae landed on Hainan Tuesday afternoon. Nalgae came ashore near Dong'ao Tawnship of Wanning City in Hainan Province at 12:30 p.m., packing winds of 90 kilometers per hour at its center, said the Hainan Provincial Meteorological Station. The station forecast that the tropical storm would move westwards after making landfall, bringing gales and rainfalls to south China's coastal areas. (Xinhua/Wang Huiyu)

A resident rides in rain in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province, Oct. 4, 2011. Strong tropical storm Nalgae landed on Hainan Tuesday afternoon. Nalgae came ashore near Dong'ao Tawnship of Wanning City in Hainan Province at 12:30 p.m., packing winds of 90 kilometers per hour at its center, said the Hainan Provincial Meteorological Station. The station forecast that the tropical storm would move westwards after making landfall, bringing gales and rainfalls to south China's coastal areas. (Xinhua/Wang Huiyu)

Residents boarding a ferry are evacuated to safe place in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, Oct. 4, 2011. Strong tropical storm Nalgae landed on Hainan Tuesday afternoon. Nalgae came ashore near Dong'ao Tawnship of Wanning City in Hainan Province at 12:30 p.m., packing winds of 90 kilometers per hour at its center, said the Hainan Provincial Meteorological Station. The station forecast that the tropical storm would move westwards after making landfall, bringing gales and rainfalls to south China's coastal areas. (Xinhua/Hou Jiansen)

A resident walks in rain in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province, Oct. 4, 2011. Strong tropical storm Nalgae landed on Hainan Tuesday afternoon. Nalgae came ashore near Dong'ao Tawnship of Wanning City in Hainan Province at 12:30 p.m., packing winds of 90 kilometers per hour at its center, said the Hainan Provincial Meteorological Station. The station forecast that the tropical storm would move westwards after making landfall, bringing gales and rainfalls to south China's coastal areas. (Xinhua/Wang Huiyu)

HAIKOU, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Strong tropical storm Nalgae landed on China's southernmost island province of Hainan Tuesday afternoon, forcing evacuation and suspending traffic in and out of the island.

Nalgae came ashore near Dong'ao Township of Wanning City in Hainan Province at 12:30 p.m., packing winds of 90 kilometers per hour at its center, said the Hainan Provincial Meteorological Station.

The station forecast that the tropical storm would move westwards after making landfall, bringing gales and rainfalls to south China's coastal areas.

As of Tuesday noon, the province has evacuated 113,200 people living in unsafe areas, said an official at the province's headquarters for flood control, drought prevention and typhoon precaution.

Ferry and passenger train services in and out of the island have been suspended. Local airports also canceled several flights heading in and out of the province, stranding thousands of passengers.

On Monday, more than 27,000 fishing boats were called back to harbor, as the province issued alert of rough sea conditions.

Downgraded from a strong typhoon Sunday afternoon, Nalgae was the third tropical cyclone to hit Hainan in less than two weeks, after the strong Typhoon Nesat and tropical storm Hitom.

Earlier, four people died, more than 140,000 were evacuated and 2.49 million were affected in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in the floods triggered by Nesat, which also toppled houses and damaged farmland, causing direct economic losses of 2.1 billion yuan (328 million U.S. dollars) in the region.

As one of the strongest typhoons to hit Hainan over recent years, Nesat affected 3.77 million people and caused 5.8 billion yuan in economic losses on the island, local authorities said.