..."Also, there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth anguish of nations, not knowing the way out because of the roaring of the sea and its agitation,...
SHANGHAI (AFP) - At least 14 people were killed in China as Typhoon Khanun ground its way inland Monday, causing widespread damage and forcing the evacuation of more than a million people in coastal areas.
Khanun, the 15th typhoon to hit China this year, slammed into the eastern province of Zhejiang Sunday, with a preliminary death toll of 14 in that area alone as of Monday, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on its website.
Among the victims, eight people died and another was missing when a flood caused by the typhoon swept through Qinglin village, near the Zhejiang city of Ningbo, swamping 20 houses, Xinhua news agency reported.
A resident of Taizhou city in Zhejiang was electrocuted after a power line was knocked loose by the storm, Xinhua also reported.
Nine others were reported missing from the typhoon, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said, adding that 5.5 million residents were affected in Zhejiang, as well as neighboring Fujian and Anhui provinces and Shanghai city.
More than 1.35 million people have been evacuated to safe places.
In China's largest city Shanghai, the powerful storm shut down schools, with more than 1,000 families flooded out and 30 roads inundated, Xinhua said.
Winds were so strong they knocked people off their bikes.
In less than 12 hours, Shanghai evacuated 160,000 residents and cancelled more than 400 flights. At Hongqiao airport, large lines formed Monday while exasperated passengers tried, often in vain, to change their flights.
Altogether, 2.25 million hectares (5.55 acres) of cropland suffered damage in provinces and cities affected, Xinhua quoted the state flood control and drought relief headquarters saying.
In the worst hit province, Zhejiang, Xinhua said economic losses were estimated at 6.89 billion yuan (849 million dollars) from a typhoon meteorologists described as the strongest to hit China this year.
As of noon Monday, Typhoon Khanun battered several cities in Zhejiang with strong winds and rainstorms, flattening 7,468 houses and damaging many reservoirs, according to the provincial government.
After leaving the province, the storm, packing force 12 winds, rolled from south to north across Jiangsu province, home to 74 million people, hitting nearly every major city on its way and ripping up trees and power lines.
"The typhoon is still battering the province as we speak, and we don't have a precise estimate yet of the material damage," Ji Hongfei, spokesman of the Jiangsu flood control headquarters, told AFP.
The Jiangsu cities of Suzhou and Wuxi were severely hit, and were forced to close down all schools, he said.
While the world was focusing its attention on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, China's state-run newspapers were emphasizing the dangers of Typhoon Khanun.
Experts warned that the potential for damage gradually builds up in the course of the year, as each typhoon adds to the erosion of east China's fragile geology.
"Special attention should be paid to possible mudslides and cave-ins, as rocks and earth were loosened by the floods and rains caused by previous typhoons," said Lu Keyuan, an official at the Zhejiang water resources bureau.
Earlier this month Typhoon Talim left at least 124 dead and 31 missing after slowly churning its way through the same areas.
Some 19 million residents in those provinces were affected and 1.84 million of them had to be evacuated, according to state media.
LAST WEEK:
BEIJING (AP) — The death toll from last week's Typhoon Talim has climbed by 13 to at least 95 on the Chinese mainland, with another 30 people missing, the government Monday.
Residents make their way along a flooded street in Fuzhou, in China's Fujian province.
Some 59 deaths occurred Anhui, a poor inland province where thousands of houses were destroyed by flooding and landslides, the official Xinhua News Agency and state television reported.
The reports didn't say where the other deaths occurred, but 14 fatalities were reported earlier in the southeastern coastal city of Wenzhou.
Talim roared ashore Thursday on China's mainland, destroying houses and crops and disrupting power supplies after killing two people and injuring 24 on Taiwan.
It weakened to a tropical storm late Thursday but continued to dump torrential rain on inland areas.
Flooding, landslides and mudflows were reported in a vast swath of central and southeastern China, including Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Hubei provinces, as well as Anhui.
State television showed rescue workers wearing lifejackets using boats to help villagers escape flooded homes.
Economic losses were estimated at $1.5 billion, Xinhua said.
Typhoon is just another word for hurricane, the word typhoon is used in Asiatic countries.
Residents make their way along a flooded street in Fuzhou, in China's Fujian province.
Some 59 deaths occurred Anhui, a poor inland province where thousands of houses were destroyed by flooding and landslides, the official Xinhua News Agency and state television reported.
The reports didn't say where the other deaths occurred, but 14 fatalities were reported earlier in the southeastern coastal city of Wenzhou.
Talim roared ashore Thursday on China's mainland, destroying houses and crops and disrupting power supplies after killing two people and injuring 24 on Taiwan.
It weakened to a tropical storm late Thursday but continued to dump torrential rain on inland areas.
Flooding, landslides and mudflows were reported in a vast swath of central and southeastern China, including Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Hubei provinces, as well as Anhui.
State television showed rescue workers wearing lifejackets using boats to help villagers escape flooded homes.
Economic losses were estimated at $1.5 billion, Xinhua said.
Typhoon is just another word for hurricane, the word typhoon is used in Asiatic countries.
No comments:
Post a Comment