Early Season,Typhoon Neoguri Reaches South China
Friday, April 18, 2008 at 2:52PM 
The Typhoon Neoguri reached China on Friday evening local time, and weakened into a severe tropical storm.
The storm which caused the evacuation of about 120,000 people from the low lying areas of the southern island province of Hainan, China "Will be the earliest typhoon of the season to affect the south China region since the founding of new China in 1949" said Chen Lei, deputy commander of the State Headquarters of Flood Control and Drought Relief.
The Xinhua News agency that provided the quote from Chen Lei, was also reporting that "The storm was expected to be one of the strongest in history to hit the region."
22,000 Fishing boats were called back to harbor however 56 fishermen were reported missing. A maritime rescue team set out at 11:00 to look for the 56 missing fishermen after officials had lost contact since Thursday evening with three boats sheltering near a reef in the Xisha Archipelago in the South China Sea, according to the Xinhua News agency.
All Ferry services in the area were suspended but flights in and out continued.
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