HONG KONG, July 20 (Reuters) - Rains from Typhoon Wipha pounded Hong Kong on Sunday as the storm skirted southwards before making landfall on the coast of China's Guangdong province, leaving fallen trees and scaffolding and sending over 200 people to seek refuge at temporary shelters.

A tropical storm is intensifying and is expected to reach typhoon strength before hitting southern China's coast on Sunday.

Storm No. 3, internationally known as Typhoon Wipha, passed north of China’s Leizhou Peninsula on the morning of July 21 and entered the northern Gulf of Tonkin, posing a growing threat to Vietnam’s northern and north-central coastal regions,