Hong Kong poised to be hit by biggest typhoon since 18

Tens of millions of people in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and other southern Chinese megacities sheltered indoors Friday as Super Typhoon Saola threatened to become the strongest storm to hit the region in decades.

Over 880,000 people were evacuated across two Chinese provinces ahead of Saola making landfall, hundreds of flights were cancelled across the region, and trees were uprooted around the rain-battered streets of Hong Kong.

China's national weather office predicted Saola "may become the strongest typhoon to make landfall in the Pearl River Delta since 1949", referring to a low-lying region that includes Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong province.

With a direct hit possible, authorities in Hong Kong raised the warning level on Friday evening to the city's highest -"T10"-which had only been issued 16 times since World War II before Saola.

"Do not go outside... Stay away from exposed windows and doors because glass, already under strain from wind pressure, will shatter easily if hit by a flying object," the Hong Kong Observatory warned in a bulletin released after the highest alert was issued.