(Reuters) — Rescuers evacuated people out of rising floodwaters in China's southern, Zhejiang province as approaching Typhoon Chan-Hom caused heavy rain, state media reported on Saturday (July 11).

In Xiangshan county in Zhejiang, over 30 rescuers and life boats were dispatched to for the evacuation, China's state run television CCTV reported.

CCTV footage showing rescuer carrying a old man on his back and transferring him to the safety on a life boat.

Rescuers evacuated more than 80 people who were struck in houses in Zhoushan city in the midnight of Friday (July 10), CCTV said.

More than 865,000 people have been evacuated from Zhejiang ahead of Saturday's expected landfall of Typhoon Chan-Hom on Saturday afternoon, state news agency Xinhua said. The storm moved onto land in Zhoushan at 4:40pm (0840GMT).

Chan-hom, may be the most powerful typhoon to hit Zhejiang in July since the Communist Party took power in 1949, local media added.

The typhoon will bring heavy rain to parts of China, including the commercial capital of Shanghai and the eastern provinces of Anhui, Fujian, and Jiangsu, besides Zhejiang, the National Meteorological Center said said.

Besides the closure of schools and the suspension of flights and trains, 29,000 ships have returned to port, Xinhua said, citing local authorities.

Typhoons are common at this time of year in the South China Sea, picking up strength from the warm waters before dissipating over land.

Earlier this week, typhoon Linfa moved slowly across the north of the Southeast Asian archipelago and up to China's southern province of Guangdong.