The strongest typhoon to hit South China since 1973 made landfall in Wenchang, Hainan province, at about 3:30 pm on Friday, forcing the evacuation of thousands, suspending ferry service and snarling traffic in the southern coastal areas.

The National Meteorological Center and weather authorities in Hainan and Guangdong provinces issued a red alert, the most severe of the nation's color-coded weather warning system, for the typhoon on Friday.

Super Typhoon Rammasun, with maximum winds of 60 meters per second near the center, tore through the southern island province of Hainan, toppling trees and stranding thousands of airline passengers in the popular summer resorts of Haikou and Sanya.

The NMC reported that the typhoon carried gusts of more than 56 meters per second off Hainan and Guangdong at about 2 pm on Friday.