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14 dead as second storm approaches
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THE world’s strongest storm this year killed at least 14 people and left another 14 missing when it hit China’s southeast coast, the government said yesterday, as rescuers scoured flooded streets and workers struggled to restore power to more than a million homes.
Typhoon Meranti had largely dissipated by yesterday afternoon, a day after it swept in from the Pacific Ocean, clipping the southern tip of Taiwan, and making landfall near the port city of Xiamen in Fujian Province.
The storm killed seven people in Fujian, six people in Zhejiang Province and one in Taiwan.
More than 330,000 people were returning to their homes yesterday after being forced to flee the storm that meteorologists said was the world’s biggest this year.
Meanwhile, Taiwan was yesterday preparing for another, Typhoon Malakas.
The Taiwan weather bureau issued land and sea warnings, urging people to be on alert for severe weather and flooding.
It said Malakas would be bringing winds of up to 180 kilometers per hour as it approached.
Meranti made landfall in Xiamen at 3:05am on Thursday, with a maximum 15-grade wind force bringing extraordinary rainstorms. In Fujian, some 331,000 people were forced to relocate and direct economic losses of 1.7 billion yuan (US$249 million) were estimated in the province, according to the local government. Nine people have been reported missing in the province.
Workers are busy restoring the power grid in Xiamen, as the typhoon cut off water supplies and caused a mass blackout in the city. Water supplies in most areas had resumed by 8pm on Thursday.
As some of the city’s railway facilities were damaged, nine passenger trains were canceled, and the routes of 61 trains changed.
The provincial government has so far allocated 60 million yuan in disaster relief for affected people.
The typhoon weakened to a tropical depression around 5pm on Thursday and moved northward bringing downpours to Shanghai and the provinces of Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Jiangsu and Anhui.
Zhejiang was particularly badly affected. As of 11am yesterday, six people in the province had been killed, with another five missing. More than 70,000 people were relocated, and 1.8 billion yuan in direct economic losses caused, according to provincial authorities. Over 600 rescuers are working in disaster-hit areas of Zhejiang.
Shanghai witnessed its heaviest downpour this year from Thursday night to yesterday morning, with up to 400 millimeters of precipitation in some districts.
The city will continue to suffer gales and showers with Malakas due to enter the East China Sea today as it approaches China’s east coast regions.
Over the weekend, skies will be overcast and there will be frequent showers. Temperatures will be between 25 and 29 degrees Celsius.
The heavy rain that lashed the city from Thursday night due to Meranti’s arrival died out yesterday and authorities lifted an orange rain alert at noon.
Over the two days, the city’s 12 monitoring stations recorded precipitation of more than 300 millimeters, with one station reporting 400mm.
The Pudong New Area and Chongming Island were the worst hit.
From 8am to 11am yesterday, precipitation reached 214mm in the Dongtan Wetland on Chongming and 104.4mm in Pudong’s Dishui Lake area.
At 6pm yesterday, the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau issued yellow alerts for rainstorms and lightning as the city braced itself for Malakas.
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