Tropical storm Fengshen hit the southeast coast of China early on Wednesday, bringing about heavy rains and strong winds.

The storm made the landfall in the coastal area of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, at 5:30 a.m. with winds of up to 83 kilometers per hour, according to the provincial meteorological station.

Heavy rains and gales had already hit central and southern parts of the province, it said.

The station said the storm would continue to move north at a speed of 15 km per hour and lose strength.

More than 13,000 ships in Guangdong returned to harbor ahead of the storm's arrival.

Within an hour of landfall, monitoring stations in Shenzhen had reported rainfall of up to 38 millimeters.

The Shenzhen meteorological station forecast downpours of up to 200 mm would hit the city Wednesday and Thursday.

Middle and primary schools in Shenzhen have suspended classes.

As of 8 a.m., no casualties had been reported, the city's flood control authorities said.

By 11 a.m., Shenzhen airport had cancelled two domestic fights:

One inbound and one outbound, while 10 outbound flights had been delayed and seven scheduled to depart between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. were also delayed.

A flood prevention emergency response plan was activated on Wednesday in eastern Jiangxi Province. Heavy rains of 80 mm to 200 mm were forecast in the province's eastern and southern areas from Wednesday through to Saturday.

The storm was forecast to hit Ganzhou City, in Jiangxi, late on Wednesday and was expected to affect the province for 36 hours, the provincial meteorological station said.

Two teams from Jiangxi flood control headquarters had been dispatched to the affected areas to help with evacuations and preparations against floods, landslides and mud-rock flows.

The China Central Meteorological Station forecast early Wednesday heavy rains would sweep Guangdong, Fujian, Guangxi, Jiangxi and Hunan due to the effects of the storm.

From June 6 to 16, nine provinces in the country's east, south and southwest had experienced torrential rain, leaving 63 people dead, 13 missing and 1.6 million people displaced, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Hong Kong also saw heavy rains on Wednesday. All schools in the region stopped classes on Wednesday morning.

The storm was downgraded from a typhoon level. Hundreds were dead or missing in the Philippines after Typhoon Fengshen ripped through the archipelago on Friday afternoon.

(Xinhua News Agency June 25, 2008)