Hato, the 13th typhoon of the year, made landfall in Zhuhai City in south China's Guangdong Province on Aug 23 and has claimed 17 lives as of the 25th, according to Jiemian.com.
Windows were damaged and the board blown away in Zhuhai Xiangzhou Church, but services there and at Shenzhen Church were held as normal on the 23rd.
Zhuhai Church was founded in 1975 when a sister surnamed Li received the Gospel in her hometown of Shantou and spread the good news when she moved to Zhuhai. The congregation grew from five or six people at first to over 30 in 1985. The number reached 100 in 1990. The church was officially registered in July 1997 and became Zhuhai Christian Xiangzhou Church. It was a rented house back then. After more than ten years' development, there are over 3,000 believers and more gatherings. The church moved to the third floor of a building in the middle of December 2016.
A new church is being prepared with the name Zhuhai Church.
Of the 17 casualties, 9 were from Guangdong Province and 8 from Macau, according to Jiemian.com. Hato left Guangdong on the 24th.
-Translated by Grace Hubl
