Hong Kong Airlines has taken delivery of its first A350-900, making it the 15th airline worldwide to operate the newest model of twin-aisle aircraft, Airbus China confirmed Saturday.

Hong Kong Airlines will acquire 21 Airbus A350 XWB, including 15 purchased directly from Airbus and six on lease from third party lessors, said Airbus China.

Hong Kong Airlines has configured the A350-900 with a three-class layout. It has a total of 334 seats, made up of 33 in business class, 108 in premium economy and 193 in economy class.

After initially flying regional routes, Hong Kong Airline’s A350-900 will begin long haul operations in December 2017, starting with the carrier’s non-stop service to Los Angeles.

The A350 XWB features the latest aerodynamic design, carbon fibre fuselage and wings, plus new fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce engines, which offer the model with operational efficiency, according to Airbus.

To date, Airbus has recorded a total of 848 firm orders for the A350 XWB from 45 customers worldwide.

With 287 firm orders for the A350 from carriers in Asia-Pacific, the region represents over a third of total sales for the aircraft to date.

According to Airbus Global Market Forecast 2017-2036, the number of passenger aircraft with more than 100 seats will increase to 40,000 planes in the next 20 years, with Asia Pacific identified as the main “engine”.

Chinese authorities activated a national disaster alert and response mechanism for Typhoon Mawar Saturday to help local civil affairs departments prepare for relief work.

Civil affairs departments in southern provinces including Fujian and Guangdong should remain on duty around the clock, according to a notice issued by China National Commission for Disaster Reduction, in coordination with the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The notice asked local authorities to publicize forecasts regarding Mawar and its predicted routes to enable residents to move to safe places and ships to return to harbor.

Local departments should inform residents to stockpile enough daily necessities for one to three days, it said, adding relief materials and funds should also be prepared to guarantee the basic requirements of disaster-hit residents.

Mawar is the 16th typhoon to hit China this year. It is forecast to make landfall in Guangdong Province on Sunday.

Nine people are dead and one remains missing after torrential rain hit Sichuan and Guizhou provinces in southwest China, authorities said Saturday.

In Sichuan, seven people are dead and another missing after rain triggered flooding and landslides since Friday, provincial civil affairs authorities said in a statement.

Torrential rain has affected 165,000 people in 35 county-level areas, with more than 6,800 residents evacuated, the statement said.

Over 4,300 hectares of crops have been damaged, of which 700 hectares were destroyed, it said.

In Guizhou Province, two people were buried when a house collapsed in Qianxi Township in the city of Bijie late Friday. The two bodies were recovered from the debris around 6 a.m. Saturday, according to a spokesperson with the local government.

Several townships in the district received more than 100 mm of rainfall within six hours. The local weather bureau issued a red alert, the highest in China’s four-tier warning system, for heavy rain on Friday.

Disaster relief materials including tents, blankets and rice have been delivered to the affected townships.

Air quality in Beijing is expected to improve on Tuesday as rain and a northerly wind are forecast in the city to disperse recent smog.

Air pollution began last Tuesday and the quality of air worsened Saturday morning, local environmental protection authorities said Saturday.

At 10 a.m. Saturday, the PM 2.5 density in the city reached 176 micrograms per cubic meter of air, indicating heavy air pollution, according to data from Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Monitoring Center.

Sulfate has been confirmed as the primary pollutant, accounting for 15 percent of PM 2.5, according to the center. Sulfur dioxide, which comes from coal firing, is a major source of sulfate.

Beijing’s coal consumption is low, however, monitoring has shown the air pollution has come into the city from neighboring areas.

The smog is not expected to disperse until Tuesday, when rain and a northerly wind are forecast in the city.

An advanced supply vessel joined the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy Friday in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.

Hulun Nur 965 is the first of a new type of comprehensive supply vessel independently developed by China using globally advanced technologies, according to military sources.

It is capable replenishing an aircraft carrier group or other navy fleet on the high sea, the source said said.

Shen Jinlong, commander of the PLA Navy, conferred the military flag and presented a certificate to the new ship.