*

Vietnam to evacuate over 586,000 people

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Vietnam airlines cancel dozens of flights to and from

central

cities

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China resort city Sanya shuts businesses, public transport

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Kajiki to make landfall in south China or central Vietnam

(Recasts headline, paragraph 1 with Vietnam, adds details in

paragraphs 3-6, 17, bullets, changes media slug dateline,

changes media slug; previous was ASIA-WEATHER/CHINA-TYPHOON)

By Khanh Vu and Ethan Wang

HANOI/BEIJING, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Vietnam plans to

evacuate more than half a million people and has ordered boats

to stay ashore, while the southern Chinese city of Sanya closed

businesses and public transport on Sunday as the two countries

braced for an intensifying Typhoon Kajiki.

The storm could make landfall along the southern coast of

China's southern island province of Hainan from Sunday afternoon

to evening, or skirt the southern coastline before heading

toward Vietnam, China's National Meteorological Center said.

The storm, packing winds of up to 149 kph (93 mph), was

about 500 km (300 miles) off Vietnam's central coast at 0600

GMT, moving west at 20 kph, according to Vietnam's national

weather forecast agency.

It is likely to strengthen with wind speeds as high as 170

kph (110 mph), China's weather forecaster said.

Authorities in Vietnam plan to evacuate more than 586,000

people from the central provinces of Thanh Hoa, Quang Tri, Hue

and Danang, where the typhoon is forecast to make landfall early

on Monday, state media reported.

Seven coastal provinces in the Southeast Asian nation banned

boats from leaving shore early on Sunday, Tien Phong newspaper

reported.

Flag carrier Vietnam Airlines cancelled at least 22 flights

to and from central cities on Sunday and Monday. Vietjet

Aviation said it was cancelling or delaying flights but did not

provide details.

China's Sanya, renowned for seafront resorts and sandy

beaches, closed tourist attractions, shuttered businesses and

suspended public transport.

'WORST-CASE SCENARIOS'

China's weather agency forecast heavy rainfall and strong

winds in Hainan and nearby Guangdong province and Guangxi

region, with areas in Hainan set to receive as much as 400 mm

(1.7 inches) of precipitation.

Sanya issued a red typhoon alert on Sunday morning - the

highest in China's colour-coded warning system - and raised its

emergency response to the most severe level, according to posts

on the local government's WeChat account.

City officials convened a meeting on Saturday evening,

urging preparation for "worst-case scenarios" and stressing the

need for heightened vigilance to ensure no fatalities and

minimal injuries, the government said.

All classes and construction are suspended, and shopping

centres, restaurants and supermarkets are closed from Sunday.

Vessels have been ordered to cease operating in Sanya's waters.

Officials said the lifting of restrictions would depend on

the storm's impact.

Sanya is one of China's most popular holiday destinations,

attracting 34 million tourist visits last year, state news

agency Xinhua reported.

Since July, record rainfall has lashed China north and south

in what meteorologists describe as extreme weather events linked

to climate change, testing local government readiness and posing

significant risk to lives and the economy.

Natural disasters including flooding and drought caused

52.15 billion yuan ($7.28 billion) in direct economic losses in

China last month, affecting millions of people and leaving 295

dead or missing, data from the Ministry of Emergency Management

showed.

The Vietnamese government likened the strength of Kajiki to

that of Yagi, which battered the country less than a year ago,

killing about 300 people and causing property damage of $3.3

billion.

($1 = 7.1651 Chinese yuan renminbi)