Hong Kong issued a No. 8 Gale or Storm Signal Sunday morning in the face of severe tropical storm Pakhar.

The Hong Kong Observatory issued at 5:10 a.m. local time the No. 8 Southeast Gale or Storm Signal, which means that winds with speeds of 63 km per hour or more are expected from the southeast quarter.

In a report updated at around 10:00 a.m., the observatory said Severe Tropical Storm Pakhar has made landfall in Guangdong province and is forecast to move north-northwest at 28 km per hour into inland Guangdong.

In the past hour, winds occasionally reached storm force in the southwestern part of Hong Kong and occasionally reached hurricane force on high ground of certain islands, it said, adding that the No. 8 Gale or Storm Signal is expected to persist for the whole morning.

An Amber Rainstorm Warning Signal was issued at the same time. The observatory said rainbands associated with Pakhar are bringing occasional heavy showers and squalls to Hong Kong and there may be flooding in low-lying areas.

This is the second time in this week that Hong Kong issued a No. 8 or above tropical cyclones warning signal.

A No. 10 Hurricane signal was issued Wednesday in the face of severe typhoon Hato.

After the No. 8 Southeast Gale or Storm Signal was issued, classes of all day schools, public hospitals’ general out-patient clinics and some of the city’s public services were suspended.

The China Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui, the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal in Sheung Wan and Tuen Mun Ferry Terminal in Tuen Mun were closed temporarily. The Airport Authority Hong Kong reported that a total of 140 flights had been canceled as at 6:00 a.m. Sunday.

According to the Hospital Authority, as at 8:35 a.m., a total of 17 people, including eight men and nine women, aged between 24 and 83 had sought medical treatment at public hospitals during the typhoon period.

The call center of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government has received 85 reports of fallen tree as at 10:00 a.m.

As at 9:10 a.m., the Home Affairs Department of the HKSAR government had opened 27 temporary shelters in various districts and 218 people had sought refuge at the shelters.

Pakhar, the 14th typhoon this year, landed around 9 a.m. Sunday in Taishan City, south China’s Guangdong Province, bringing gales of 33 meters per second at its eye, according to local meteorological authorities.

Chinese publications have drawn much attention from overseas publishers during the ongoing Beijing International Book Fair, with many rights deals already being signed.

The Beijing International Book Fair is now in its 24th year. More than 2,500 exhibitors from 89 countries and regions are taking part in the fair, with overseas exhibitors accounting for 58 percent.

Around 40,000 books from over 300 major Chinese publishers are on display for overseas publishers and libraries. At the fair last year and the year before, the number of copyright trade agreements signed between Chinese and foreign companies exceeded 4,000 each year.

At this year’s fair, Chinese publishers are continuing their efforts to market their books both in paper and digital form.

“Keywords to understand China: the Belt and Road Initiative,” published by New World Press, has secured deals to publish in eight different languages.

The English version of Chinese novelist Jia Pingwa’s “Happy Dreams” will be published by Amazon both in paper and digital.

“We hope to introduce more wonderful Chinese books to more foreign readers, building a bridge connecting Chinese and Western cultures,” said Bruce Aitken, general manager of Amazon Reading China.

Tsinghua University Press agreed to cooperate with Royal Collions Publishing Group, working on the English translation of a series of cartoon books to introduce Chinese tales to children around the world.

The book fair is being held at the New China International Exhibition Center from Aug. 23 to 27.

China upgraded its warning for Typhoon Parkhar to the second highest level Saturday afternoon, as it was estimated to make landfall in coastal areas of Guangdong Province Sunday.

The National Meteorological Center (NMC) issued an orange alert for Typhoon Parkhar on 6 p.m., after issuing a yellow alert Friday evening.

At 5 p.m. Saturday, the eye of Parkhar was above the South China Sea some 670 km away from Taishan, Guangdong, packing winds of up to 23 meters per second, the NMC said in a statement.

The NMC forecast it would move northwestward to make landfall near the cities of Shenzhen and Yangjiang in Guangdong Sunday, and then move west to Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region while losing strength.

The agency forecast Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and Fujian provinces will see torrential rain in the coming day.

China has a four-tier color-coded system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for “firm adherence to the right direction in the reform of mass organizations.”

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in an instruction to a symposium on mass organization reform.

The work on mass organizations is an important component of the undertakings of the CPC, and mass organization reform is an important part of overall reform, Xi said.

Xi asked the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee to enhance guidance on the reform work, with a reform office under CPC Central Committee overseeing the implementation of the reform plan.

Party committees at all levels should take responsibilities to push forward the reform of mass organizations, by steering the direction of the reform, studying the current situation and tackling difficulties to improve the work of mass organizations and their services, Xi said.