Post by Tulameen on May 18, 2006 21:40:51 GMT -5
Eleven die as typhoon hits China
At least 11 people have been killed and more than one million people evacuated after a powerful typhoon hit China.
Power lines were knocked out and roads and homes flooded as Typhoon Chanchu pounded the southern coast in Guangdong and Fujian provinces.
At least 27 Vietnamese fishermen are reported missing after the storm sank three boats in Chinese waters.
Chanchu was the strongest typhoon on record to have struck the region during the month of May.
Downgraded to a tropical storm, it was moving north-east along the Chinese coast at about 35km/h (22mph) and was expected to enter the East China Sea by Friday morning.
Heavy rainfall was reported in Shanghai, and China's Meteorological Administration warned of severe weather in Zhejiang province just south of the city.
'Major impact'
The typhoon had claimed 11 lives and four people were still missing, Xinhua news agency quoted a ministry statement as saying.
Eight people had been killed in Fujian Province and another three in neighbouring Guangdong Province.
All the victims in Guangdong were killed in the city of Shantou, which was battered by rain and winds of up to 170 km/h, Xinhua earlier reported.
Two children were among those killed after fierce winds brought down their homes.
Nearly all the roads in Shantou were flooded and there had been several blackouts.
Meanwhile, Vietnam has asked China to help in the search for at least 27 fishermen still missing after their boats sank in the typhoon, the Associated Press reports.
More than one million people were moved to safety in Guangdong and Fujian provinces as the storm hit.
People who were moved out of fishing boats and low-lying areas were sheltered in tents, schools and government warehouses or were staying with friends, the AP quoted a Chinese official from Chaozhou in Guangdong as saying.
"The typhoon's impact here was pretty major," he said.
At least 37 deaths in the Philippines were blamed on the storm when it hammered the country at the weekend.
Published: 2006/05/18 13:58:52 GMT
© BBC MMVI
va_afp203.jpg
At least 11 people have been killed and more than one million people evacuated after a powerful typhoon hit China.
Power lines were knocked out and roads and homes flooded as Typhoon Chanchu pounded the southern coast in Guangdong and Fujian provinces.
At least 27 Vietnamese fishermen are reported missing after the storm sank three boats in Chinese waters.
Chanchu was the strongest typhoon on record to have struck the region during the month of May.
Downgraded to a tropical storm, it was moving north-east along the Chinese coast at about 35km/h (22mph) and was expected to enter the East China Sea by Friday morning.
Heavy rainfall was reported in Shanghai, and China's Meteorological Administration warned of severe weather in Zhejiang province just south of the city.
'Major impact'
The typhoon had claimed 11 lives and four people were still missing, Xinhua news agency quoted a ministry statement as saying.
Eight people had been killed in Fujian Province and another three in neighbouring Guangdong Province.
All the victims in Guangdong were killed in the city of Shantou, which was battered by rain and winds of up to 170 km/h, Xinhua earlier reported.
Two children were among those killed after fierce winds brought down their homes.
Nearly all the roads in Shantou were flooded and there had been several blackouts.
Meanwhile, Vietnam has asked China to help in the search for at least 27 fishermen still missing after their boats sank in the typhoon, the Associated Press reports.
More than one million people were moved to safety in Guangdong and Fujian provinces as the storm hit.
People who were moved out of fishing boats and low-lying areas were sheltered in tents, schools and government warehouses or were staying with friends, the AP quoted a Chinese official from Chaozhou in Guangdong as saying.
"The typhoon's impact here was pretty major," he said.
At least 37 deaths in the Philippines were blamed on the storm when it hammered the country at the weekend.
Published: 2006/05/18 13:58:52 GMT
© BBC MMVI
va_afp203.jpg