More Than 660,000 Evacuated In China As Typhoon Bears Down

WEATHER NEWS

A man shouts warnings with a bullhorn as he hits the gong, walking down an empty streets in Changle, southeastern China's Fujian province, 18 July 2005, to alert residents of the typhoon. More than 660,000 people have been evacuated in the eastern Chinese coastal provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian as Typhoon Haitang bore down on the region after pounding Taiwan with heavy winds and rain. China Out. AFP photo.

Beijing (AFP) Jul 18, 2005
More than 660,000 people have been evacuated in the eastern Chinese coastal provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian as Typhoon Haitang bore down on the region after pounding Taiwan with heavy winds and rain Monday.

The provincial meteorological station forecast that Haitang would make landfall between the southern part of Zhejiang and the central regions of Fujian on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

In preparation, 539,000 people have been moved to safe areas in Fujian, including more than 300,000 fishermen whose boats were ordered back to port, the Fujian Flood Relief Office said on its website.

The mass evacuation began Saturday evening when the threat from the typhoon became apparent, it said.

In Zhejiang, 122,000 people have been evacuated, including 77,000 from the ancient city of Wenzhou which is expected to be one of the worst hit areas.

Authorities have arranged round-the-clock patrols at reservoirs and embankments, fearing landslides and floods.

According to weather reports, gales of force 7-8 were already sweeping over the coastal areas of northern and central Fujian.

Zhejiang governer Lu Zushan ordered all people living in low lying areas along the coast to move to higher ground by 6 pm (1000 GMT) and the area to batten down, Xinhua said on its website.

In addition, around 13,000 boats have been recalled into ports in the province with heavy rain lashing the area and waves of up seven metresfeet) reported.

Provincial governments are on high alert after learning lessons last year when Typhoon Rananim devastated the area, causing massive destruction and loss of life.

Rananim, the strongest storm to hit China in almost 50 years, left at least 164 people dead and 1,800 injured when it slammed into Zhejiang almost exactly a year ago.

Some 13 million people were affected one way or another with economic losses mounting to some 18.1 billion yuan (2.2 billion dollars) and many areas still rebuilding.

East China is prone to typhoons and has been pummeled by at least 15 over the past 50 years. The deadliest on record was in 1997 when 236 people were killed.

Haitang battered central Taiwan with heavy winds and rain on Monday, injuring 34 people and shutting down airports, schools, government offices and financial markets.

Even while the storm was still out at sea, its gusting winds of up to 227 kilometres (136 miles) per hour wreaked havoc across Taiwan as the government warned of possible flash floods and landslides.

China has witnessed hundreds of deaths from heavy rains and floods that have affected large swathes of the country since May.

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