Typhoon Chanchu left 16 people dead and forced the evacuation of more than one million residents when it slammed into China's southeastern coast Thursday. Eight people were killed when their houses collapsed in a landslide in Guangdong province's Shantou city, and another eight victims died in neighboring Fujian province in southeast China. It is the strongest typhoon on record to have entered the South China Sea in May. A total of 1.04 million people were evacuated from their homes in mainland China. About 100,000 fishing boats and other vessels in Guangdong and Fujian were recalled to harbor to seek shelter and more than 70 flights were cancelled in the Chinese coastal cities of Guangzhou, Xiamen and Shanghai, leaving 1,000 passengers stranded. The storm was initially expected to hit Hong Kong, but changed course over the South China Sea and brushed past the territory.
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