As Chaba, the third Typhoon of the year, made landfall in the coastal area of Maoming in South China's Guangdong Province at around 3 pm Saturday, local schools, shipping services, exhibitions and other public activities were suspended. According to the provincial meteorological department, Chaba will move toward northwest at a speed of 15 to 20 kilometers per hour, pass through Maoming and enter the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Saturday night. The weather forecast says that intense downpours and rainstorms are expected to lash the western part of the Pearl River Delta over the weekend, while the seas off Guangdong will experience strong gusts of up to 160 kilometers per hour. The Guangdong provincial government has increased its emergency response level for typhoons to Level II, the second-highest, effective as of 8: 30 am Saturday. It is expected that Chaba will gradually turn to the north after landfall, weaken its intensity and dissipate in Guangxi around July 4. The heaviest rainfall is expected to be in Hainan, Guangdong, Guangxi and other areas. Guangdong had 53,728 fishing boats organized to return to the local ports for shelter, closed 82 seaside scenic spots and beaches and evacuated 77,900 people to safe areas at the end of the day, local media reported. All the primary and secondary schools, kindergartens and after-school training institutions in Zhanjiang of Guangdong were closed on Friday. Schools in several districts of Maoming have been suspended, according to local media reports. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was also affected by the Typhoon. The Hong Kong Palace Museum HKPM, due to open to the public for the first time on Saturday, did not open as planned due to Typhoon Chaba. The HKPM will be postponed to Sunday and the opening hours will be extended at 10 pm Friday. Hainan Province has launched a Level II emergency response for typhoons and increased its emergency response to flooding and wind control to Level II. On Friday, Hainan's maritime safety authority advised more than 2,000 ships in local waters to return to port. The passenger shipping service from Guangdong to the island of Hainan was suspended on Friday and Hainan's high-speed rail and Haikou suburban trains were suspended on Saturday.