Affected by typhoon "Morakot", strong
tides surge on the Qiantang River in Haining, a city of east China's
Zhejiang Province, Aug. 8, 2009. ((Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
HANGZHOU, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- Typhoon Morakot, the eighth
of the year, forced the evacuation of nealry 1 million people in two coastal
east China provinces Sunday.
More than 490,000 residents of Zhejiang and more than
505,000 from Fujian have been relocated to safety.
In Zhejiang approximately 35,440 ships have been
called back from sea, the provincial flood-control headquarters said Sunday
morning.
Typhoon Morakot landed in east China's Fujian
Province at 4:20 p.m. on Sunday, packing winds up to 12 kilometers per hour in
its eye.
The 8th typhoon of the year made landfall in the
coastal areas of Beibi Town, Xiapu County of Ningde City, the provincial
meteorological bureau said.
Zhejiang issued a red alert, the highest, Sunday
morning, as it registered a maximum wind speed of nearly 180 km an hour in the
coastal Taizhou City area. Gales, expected to last for 60 hours, were expected
to cause waves up to 7 meters.
Strong winds and heavy rainstorms have already caused
problems in the province and are expected to do further damage when the typhoon
lands.
Wenzhou City airport has canceled 39 domestic
flights, the airport authority said.
Floods and landslides triggered by continuous
rainfall paralyzed traffic in many rural areas.
Officials in some Zhejiang villages were riding
bicycles to distribute drinking water and instant noodles to households stranded
by deep water.
"Some villages have been inundated and vehicles can't
reach them," said taxi driver Wang Jian.
The province registered its greatest precipitation of
800 mm in Taishun County, Wenzhou.
A number of expressways in the province had been
closed, said the provincial highway management authority.
Morakot has also caused havoc in Fujian.
A cargo ship was stranded amid strong winds and
rescuers were trying to rescue its eight sailors.
The ship, Daqing 254, lost control at about 2:30 a.m.
Sunday as it was attempting to take shelter from the wind.
The vessel, with a capacity of more than 30,000
tonnes, has been blown on to a reef area on Qingshan Island near Ningde City.
Li Saixi, a native of Qiyu Village in Luoyuan County,
was busy pumping water out of his basement following a downpour Saturday night.
"The rain gushed into my house at midnight and the
water level had reached to my thigh about 2 a.m.", he said.
Owners of many coastal aquafarms were securing
production facilities as strong winds pushed up high waves.
The supply of vegetables and seafoods to outdoor
markets of agricultural products in Lianjiang County has been severely cut, and
workers are clearing streets after strong winds scattered trash.
Shanghai, directly north of Zhejiang, has released
stored water from inland rivers to reduce levels by up to 40 cm in preparation
for the typhoon's arrival, the municipal flood control headquarters said Sunday.
Water conservation and disaster-control authorities
of Anhui Province were dispatching working teams to reinforce preventative
measures in disaster-prone areas before the typhoon arrives.
Affected by typhoon "Morakot", strong
tides surge on the Qiantang River in Haining, a city of east China's
Zhejiang Province, Aug. 8, 2009. ((Xinhua Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
An 80-year-old man is evacuated in
Cangnan County, east China's Zhejiang Province, Aug. 8, 2009. The province
has evacuated around 317,000 people to avoid the approaching Typhoon
Morakot so far. (Xinhua/Wang Dingchang) Photo Gallery>>>
Fishing boats moor at a port to avoid
the approaching Typhoon Morakot in Jinjiang, southeast China's Fujian
Province, Aug. 8, 2009. (Xinhua/Xiang Kailai) Photo Gallery>>>
BEIJING, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- East China is bracing for
typhoon Morakot's approach after it slammed into Taiwan Friday night.
Weather forecasters said late Saturday Morakot was
likely to land on the coast from Cangnan, Zhejiang province, to Xiapu,
neighboring Fujian province, between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Sunday. Full story
