People save cultured mudskippers at
Hongshan Village in Xiapu County, southeast China's Fujian Province, Aug.
9, 2009. Typhoon "Morakot" landed in Fujian Province Sunday afternoon.
(Xinhua/Jiang Kehong) Photo
Gallery>>>
FUZHOU, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- At least one child was
killed and millions were affected as typhoon Morakot slammed into Chinese
provinces on the eastern coast on Sunday, destroying houses and inundating
farmlands.
Morakot landed in the coastal areas of Beibi Town,
Xiapu County in Fujian Province, at 4:20 p.m., packing winds up to 118.8
kilometers per hour in its eye, the province's meteorological bureau said.
The sky turned completely dark in Beibi and people
caught in rainstorms staggered with flashlights on. Many trees were uprooted,
with some even breaking apart in strong winds.
People save cultured mudskippers at
Hongshan Village in Xiapu County, southeast China's Fujian Province, Aug.
9, 2009. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong) Photo Gallery>>>
Farmers were trying to recapture a sizeable quantity
of fish flushed from mudflat aqua farms by uprising waves.
In Fuzhou, capital of Fujian, 34 domestic flights
were cancelled and 20 delayed because of unfavorable weather conditions. The
city also suspended most passenger bus services.
In Zhejiang Province, more than 3.4 million people
were affected as hundreds of villages were flooded and more than 1,800 houses
collapsed, according to the Provincial Flood Control and Drought Relief
Headquarters.
A woman saves cultured mudskippers at
Hongshan Village in Xiapu County, southeast China's Fujian Province, Aug.
9, 2009. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong) Photo Gallery>>>
A total of 155 passenger ships were cancelled and
more than 7,400 vessels were called back from the sea as the province's maritime
authority raised the typhoon alarm to a red alert, its highest level, Sunday
morning.
The economic loss was estimated at 2.2 billion yuan
(322 million U.S. dollars) as 143,000 hectares of farmland were damaged and
nearly 9,000 enterprises suspended production.
The front of the eighth typhoon of the year had
previously triggered continuous downpours and strong winds in Fujian and its
neighboring Zhejiang Province before its landing, which forced the evacuation of
nearly one million people to safety.
A man saves cultured mudskippers at
Hongshan Village in Xiapu County, southeast China's Fujian Province, Aug.
9, 2009. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong) Photo Gallery>>>
Five houses were destroyed as the front of the
typhoon brought rainfall of 700 mm to Wenzhou City in Zhejiang just after 8 a.m.
Sunday.
Three adults and a 4-year-old boy were buried in
debris about 8:20 a.m. as the torrential rain brought the five houses down. The
child later died after emergency treatment failed, the city's flood-control
headquarters said.
More than 300 houses had collapsed, and 16,200
hectares of farmland were inundated. The city's airport was closed and 56 roads
were cut off by rainstorms.
Armed policemen work as rescuers at
Hongshan Village in Xiapu County, southeast China's Fujian Province, Aug.
9, 2009. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong) Photo Gallery>>>
The National Meteorological Center (NMC) forecast
that violent rainstorms would come along with Morakot to hit southern parts of
Jiangsu, southeastern areas in Anhui, northeastern areas of
Jiangxi, Shanghai, most parts of Zhejiang and Fujian,
and Taiwan, from Sunday night to Monday.
The center issued the highest alert at 6 p.m. in
response to expected rainstorms in these regions. It advised people to suspend
work in the outside field and urged relevant governments to reinforce drainage
of rain water in cities and villages while watching against disasters like
flooding, landslides, and mud-rock flows.
The center also warned of possible flooding along
waters near the Taihu Lake in Jiangsu Province, as downpour in the region could
reach 100 to 130 mm.
NMC experts said Typhoon Marakot could remain very
powerful for some time, and advised people in areas under its influence to stay
at safe places and hide away from strong winds.
The shipping service between Xiamen City in Fujian
and Jinmen in Taiwan which was closed Friday and stranded about 8,000
passengers, will be resumed Monday morning, local officials said.
Rescuers pull a car out of water in rain
in Wenzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Aug. 9, 2009. Typhoon
"Morakot" slammed into Chinese provinces on the eastern coast on Sunday,
causing casualties, destroying houses and inundating farmlands. (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. Full story
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
