A tropical storm is intensifying and is expected to reach typhoon strength before hitting southern China's coast on Sunday.

Hundreds of thousands of people in southern China have been evacuated and flights and trains cancelled as a result of Typhoon Wipha. The China Meteorological Administration issued an orange typhoon warning,

Typhoon Wipha disrupts travel in Taiwan and is set to impact southern China, Vietnam, and Laos. The storm caused high winds and rain, leading to flight and ferry cancellations. As Wipha strengthens, heavy rain and strong winds are expected along China's southern coast before it weakens heading west.

As of 8 a.m., the center of the year's ninth tropical depression was located southeast of Taiwan and east of the Philippines, moving west-northwest at 20 kph, per CNA. It had maximum sustained winds of 54 kph and gusts up to 92 kph.

Wipha was a tropical storm over Vietnam Tuesday afternoon China Standard Time, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center said in its latest advisory. Typhoon season is year-round; however, most typhoons form from early July through mid-December.

Typhoon Wipha disrupted air and rail travel across Hong Kong and neighboring Chinese cities, prompting the highest hurricane alert. The storm, packing