A POWERFUL typhoon made landfall on the Chinese tropical vacation island of Hainan today after it swept south of Hong Kong.

The storm brought many aspects of life in the region to a halt and forced about a million people in the country’s south to leave their homes.

The Hainan province’s meteorological service said Yagi — earlier packing winds of up to about 152mph near its centre — made landfall in the province's Wenchang city at around 4.20pm local time. It is expected to sweep toward other parts of the island before moving to the Beibu Gulf, it said.