Thousands evacuated as Typhoon Soulik hits China
Posted by hanna on 7/14/2013, 1:10 pm
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/07/13/thousands-evacuated-as-typhoon-soulik-hits-china/ BEIJING (AFP) - China evacuated more than 300,000 people and drafted in thousands of soldiers as a typhoon which brought torrential rain and powerful winds to Taiwan began to batter the mainland on Saturday. Typhoon Soulik hit China's southeastern Fujian province at about 4:00pm (0800 GMT) with windspeeds of up to 118 kilometres an hour (73 miles), the National Meteorological Centre said on its website. The typhoon had slowed since it ripped roofs from homes and uprooted trees in Taiwan, killing one person and injuring at least 30 after it struck the island at 03:00 am Saturday (2000 GMT Friday). "(It) is currently moving northwest at 20 to 25 kilometres per hour and is expected to enter neighbouring Jiangxi Province after midnight," Xinhua said, citing a local weather station. China has recommended fishing boats remain grounded on its southeastern coast, while operations in the ports of Fuzhou, Xiamen and Meizhou Bay have been suspended, the state-run news agency added. Some 5,500 soldiers were dispatched across the southeast coast to help with rescue efforts, it said. Public transport in Ningde City has been suspended and 142 flights have been cancelled at Fuzhou's Changle International Airport since Friday night. A total of 31 high-speed train services in coastal areas of Fujian have also been suspended, China National Radio said. Southwestern regions of China has been battered by torrential rains and landslides which have left more than 200 people dead or missing in recent days. Landslides and floods in Sichuan province had killed 31 people by Thursday, according to data from the ministry of civil affairs, with 166 more missing. More than two million people had been affected in the region, it added. Powerful typhoon hits Taiwan, headed for China 4:54 a.m. EDT July 13, 2013 http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2013/07/13/taiwan-typhoon-soulik-china/2514181/ TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - A powerful typhoon surged across northern Taiwan on Saturday, killing at least one person and disrupting transportation and commerce around the island of 23 million people, before heading westward toward the heavily populated Chinese coastal provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang. Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said that as of 8:30 a.m. (0030 GMT), Typhoon Soulik was at sea, just to the west of the Taiwanese city of Hsinchu. It was packing winds of 137 kph (86 mph), down from the 163 kph it had boasted on making Taiwanese landfall around dawn, but still enough to threaten substantial dislocation and damage to property. Torrential rains buffeted large areas of northern and central Taiwan, with Hsinchu and the neighboring county of Miaoli reporting totals of 700-800 millimeters (27-31 inches) by early Saturday. Around Taipei and in its environs, emergency crews were struggling to restore power to the 520,000 homes where it had been disrupted, and to remove hundreds of trees uprooted by the storm from streets and roads. Schools and businesses throughout northern Taiwan were closed by government order on Friday, and the military evacuated 8,000 people from mountainous villages considered vulnerable to flash flooding. Just after midnight on Saturday a falling brick took the life of a policeman in the Taipei suburb of Tanshui, while elsewhere, the National Fire Agency reported there were at least 21 injuries. Dozens of flights at Taipei's main international airport were canceled beginning Friday afternoon, though operations were expected to return to normal by late Saturday. Taiwan's high speed rail system also suspended operations, at least until early Saturday afternoon. Across the Taiwan Strait, the China Meteorological Administration said Soulik would make landfall in Zhejiang and Fujian on Saturday before moving inland. Local authorities were urged to suspend all maritime activities and cancel large-scale gatherings while reinforcing port and seafood farming facilities to reduce the chances of damage. Service on more than two dozen trains was canceled. |
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