/asia
(CNN) -- Hong Kong was bracing Friday for what could be a direct hit from Tropical Storm Nuri.
The storm continued churning through the South China Sea with sustained winds of about 63 mph (101 km / hour) on Friday morning.
It was about 80 miles (128 km) east-southeast of Hong Kong at 10 a.m. local time (10 p.m. ET Thursday) and was moving west-northwest at about 8 mph (13 km / hour).
On mainland China, officials had evacuated about 250,000 people from the coastal area Friday, according to state news agency, Xinhua. Hong Kong schools, government offices and financial offices had been closed. 
Watch Typhoon Nuri lash the Philippines »
While Nuri, the region's 12th tropical storm of the season, is one of the season's strongest, it had weakened from typhoon status by the time it neared the coast.
All About Philippines • Hong Kong • China
| Most Viewed | Most Emailed |
Read
VIDEO
From the Blogs: 
Sit tight, we're getting to the good stuff
