FUZHOU, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from
typhoon Saomai had risen to 255 in China by 2 p.m. Monday, with another 41
bodies discovered in Fuding city in east China's Fujian Province.
Over 160 others are still missing after Saomai
wrought havoc in the eastern provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi.
In Fuding, the worst hit city in Fujian, 138 people
were killed,1,350 injured and 86 others still missing.
Officials with Fujian Provincial Flood Control and
Drought Relief Headquarters said most of the people were killed when the super
strong typhoon broke the moorings on their ships which had sought shelter in the
harbor.
The others were killed in typhoon-triggered incidents
on land such as floods, landslides and mud-flows.
Local authorities and residents are still searching
for the missing.
The Fuding death toll update brings total fatalities
in Fujian to a staggering 166.
Previous reports listed 87 dead and 52 missing in
east China's Zhejiang Province where Saomai barreled in, and two dead and one
missing in nearby Jiangxi Province.
Also in Zhejiang, at least 2.1 million people have
been affected, 18,000 houses destroyed, 56 provincial roads and national
highways swamped, causing losses of 4.89 billion yuan (611 million U.S.
dollars).
In Fuding, the storm damaged an 1,146-year-old
Buddhist temple,
collapsing its gate house and 20 other buildings. The
damage to the Ziguo temple totaled 5 million yuan (625,000 U.S. dollars).
Saomai, the eighth typhoon in China this year,
slammed into Cangnan County of Wenzhou City at 5:25 p.m. Thursday. It was
downgraded to a tropical depression by 11 a.m. Friday.
Saomai, the most powerful typhoon over the past 50
years, killed at least two people in the Philippines earlier and dumped rain on
Japan.
According to the China Meteorological Administration
(CMA), another two tropical storms, Sonamu and Wukong, were respectively located
at latitude 18.1 north, longitude 129.9 east and latitude 26.4 north, longitude
138.0 east. CMA experts believe they will not affect China in the next couple of
days. Enditem
