Port operations in key southern Chinese shipping hubs have been suspended as Tropical Cyclone Kompasu edged closer. The storm, which is about 500 km (310 miles) southeast of Hong Kong, is expected to move west across the northern part of the South China sea and make landfall in China’s Hainan province on October 13.

The Yantian International Container Terminal, a major export facility in Shenzhen, said in customer advisory that it has halted all container pickup and delivery services. Similar announcements were issued by the city’s other large terminals in Shekou, Chiwan and Mawan.

In Hong Kong, the local observatory issued a No.8 typhoon warning signal, a level at which terminal operators should stop operations. Hongkong International Terminals, part of Hutchison Ports, said gate operations have ceased due to the looming Kompasu.

Terminal gates will also close at the port of Nansha in Guangzhou in the evening today. Coastal ports in the southeast part of China are no stranger to the visits of heavy storms each year, which normally leads to some delays to vessel schedules. Ports along the southern coastline in Guandong province, including Yantian, had already been disrupted by Typhoon Cempaka in July. That was followed by the hit from Typhoon In-fa and Typhoon Chanthu on the upper part of the country, including Shanghai and Ningbo, earlier this year.

The disruption, nevertheless, has rubbed salt into the wound of an already badly stretched global supply chain, with unprecedented port congestion and logistics bottlenecks triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.