The strongest typhoon to hit China in 50 years slammed into the southeast coast today, sending 1.3 million people fleeing from their homes.

Typhoon Saomai has made landfall near the booming city of Wenzhou between Hong Kong and Shanghai. It was packing winds of 134mph, outpacing forecasts, and may have been fuelled by the remnants of tropical storm Bopha, which is weakening and moving westwards.

At least two people were killed and hundreds of homes destroyed. A number of ships were also reported to have capsized.

The authorities used traditional gongs, mobile phone text messages and television earlier today to warn 1.3 million people to leave their homes.

The huge evacuation was accompanied by an order from Zhejiang province’s top official, Xi Jingping, the Communist Party Secretary, to ensure that there were “no deaths and a minimum of injuries”.

Zhejiang has already moved 760,000 people, and another 569,000 are being evacuated in Fujian province, which borders Zhejiang to the south, as heavy rain, strong winds and a high tide hit the area.

Schools, theatres and stadiums are being used as shelters for the displaced, and factories, shops and offices were ordered to stop all activities unrelated to battling the typhoon. Officials in Wenzhou’s Cangnan county resorted to television, the internet, text messaging and even two satellite phones to alert residents. They had also prepared 30 gongs, a traditional instrument in ancient China to warn people of disasters, and 1,200 torches.

Wenzhou residents had been reinforcing windows and doors and stockpiling drinking water and food in preparation for the arrival of Saomai, the Vietnamese name for the planet Venus. The airport was closed and hundreds of passengers were stranded because of cancelled flights. One airport manager said: “We don’t know when we will open again. The wind is only fitful but rain is really heavy here.”

One hotel worker said she began three days ago to buy in supplies of food and water sufficient to last five days. She said: “I hope I can get home safely at the end of my shift.”

Wenzhou was a prosperous foreign treaty port and is now a manufacturing centre with a greater regional population of 7.4 million.

South China has been battered by eight typhoons and tropical storms during this year’s unusually violent typhoon season. Hundreds have been killed by rainstorms, mudslides and floods. Tropical storm Bilis killed more than 600 in China last month and typhoon Prapiroon killed about 80 last week.

Saomai is the most powerful storm to threaten China since August 1956 when a typhoon slammed into Zhejiang, unleashing a tidal wave that killed more than 3,000 people.

The two deaths in China happened in the southern city of Fuding in Fujian province.

Eight Taiwanese sailors were missing after two ships capsized in a harbour in Fujian, while four Chinese were missing after their ship struck a reef.

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