HANGZHOU, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- One more person was
killed by landslide in east China's Zhejiang Province, bringing the death toll
from typhoon Sepat to 15, said local sources on Sunday.
The new victim was a man in his 40s, who was riding
in a van in Cangnan County, Wenzhou City. Landslide triggered by downpour
knocked the van with 19 on board off the road and tossed it over. Eighteen
managed to escape, two of whom were injured and under medical treatment.
Photo taken on August 18, 2007 shows the
big wave at the Dongtou Island of Wenzhou, east China's Zhejiang
Province.The Southeast China provinces are girding for the imminent
Typhoon Sepat with cancellation of flights, evacuations of ships, boats
and more than half a million people. Typhoon Sepat is expected to land
with heavy winds and downpours in the coast between Lianjiang and Xiamen
of Fujian Province around 7:00 p.m. Saturday.(Xinhua Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
Sepat brought rainfall of 40 mm per hour to Wencheng
County, disrupting power supply in eight townships and villages.
Before its landfall, Sepat caused a tornado that
smashed buildings and killed 11 people in Cangnan Town of Wenzhou on Saturday
night.
In Fujian Province where the typhoon slammed on land,
two people were killed and one was missing in a landslide triggered by Sepat.
Typhoon Sepat landed in Chongwu Town, Hui'an County
of Quanzhou City early Sunday morning, lashed the central and north parts of
Fujian with gale and rainstorm. Rainfall from 8 a.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Sunday
reached 200 mm in 11 of Fujian's 95 counties, cities and districts and exceeded
300 mm in two regions.
The typhoon damaged 366 houses in Quanzhou City of
Fujian, inundated 5,920 hectares of crops, and cut off road traffic and power
supply lines in some regions, affecting 162,600 people and inflicting an
economic loss of 72 million yuan.
The typhoon also caused severe damages in Zhejiang,
ruining 19,700 hectares of crops, wrecking 28.7 km of power supply lines and
22.1 km of dams, affecting 616,000 people across the province and resulting in a
direct economic loss of 250 million yuan (32.9 million U.S. dollars).
A woman collects rubbish on the flooded
road at Donghuxincun Village of Ningde city, southeast China's Fujian
Province, Aug. 19, 2007. Two people were killed and one was missing in a
landslide triggered by typhoon Sepat, which landed in southeast China's
Fujian Province early Sunday morning.(Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
The Zhejiang provincial meteorological station
predicted heavy rainfalls triggered by typhoon Sepat will continue in the
province for two more days until Tuesday morning.
The rainfall in Wenzhou and Lishui is expected to
reach a maximum of 200 mm. The southern coastal area of the province is to have
wind force exceeding 97 km per hour.
In Fujian Province, the rainstorms will also continue
for two days. Rainfall in Ningde, Fuzhou, Putian and Quanzhou, four major
coastal cities, will range from 200 to 300 mm, with the maximum at 400 mm.
Affected by Sepat, Shanghai was hit by rainstorms on
Sunday afternoon for two hours with a maximum rainfall of 30 mm and wind speed
of 51 km per hour.
In eastern part of Guangdong Province, rainstorms
caused by Sepat hit a dozen of counties and cities on Sunday, with Chaozhou City
the maximum rainfall of 60 mm from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., but there is so far no
report on flooding, landslide or other natural disasters in the province.
Sepat is expected to arrive at Jiangxi Province by
Sunday but has weakened to strong tropical storm.
As Sepat is expected to unleash winds of 50 to 75 km per
hour in Jiangxi, more than 30,000 fishing boats with 100,000 fishermen in Poyang
Lake have found shelter in harbors.
According to the provincial flood control and drought
relief headquarters, the tropical storm would linger in Jiangxi for about 48
hours. Local governments have been urged to be alert to ensuing floods and
landslides.
In Central China's Hunan Province, mines have been
ordered to suspend operation in the next three days as Sepat draws near. Local
governments are evacuating people in low-lying regions and have all the
reservoirs monitored around the clock.
Since Sepat is expected to hit Hubei Province, also
in central China, from Monday to Wednesday, the provincial government has issued
a warning on flood control and is carrying full effort to prepare for disaster
relief.
According to local agricultural department, insects harmful for paddy growth will fly into the province from other places with the typhoon. The province has prepared 24,000 sprayers with efficient pesticide in a bid to fight the spread of the insect damage.
