Thousands flee as storm hits China
Tuesday,July 19,2005 Posted:1408 GMT (2208 HKT)
A pedestrian struggles with an umbrella in Changle,China.
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Haitang hits Taiwan,forcing schools and financial markets to shut down (1:42)
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Manage Alerts | What Is This?SHANGHAI,China -- China evacuated more than one million residents along its southeastern coast as a typhoon that devastated Taiwan hit the mainland on Tuesday.
Taiwan's Center for Disaster Relief said at least four people had died since Typhoon Haitang battered the island a day earlier.
One man was killed by falling rocks in southeastern Taiwan,two women drowned and another victim was swept away while fishing.Another fisherman is also reported missing.
Dozens were also injured as the typhoon's lashing winds and torrential rain toppled trucks and firefighters tried to clear the roads of fallen trees,billboards and other debris.
Rescue workers used helicopters and jet skis to rescue 21 crew members from a cargo ship that had partially sunk near the southern port of Kaohsiung.
Taiwan's Council of Agriculture said the island's farms had suffered damage estimated at $14.2 million,while Reuters put the total damage caused by the storm at $41 million.
The typhoon,downgraded to a tropical storm as wind speeds dropped to around 119 kilometers (74 miles) an hour,hit the Chinese coastal town of Huangqi in Fujian province on Tuesday afternoon,a local meteorological agency reported.
Heavy rain was falling over the southeastern province and flooding and landslides were expected,the Associated Press said.
China Central Television said that one million people in Fujian and neighboring Zhejiang had fled their homes to temporary shelters,while 5,000 armed police have been mobilized,with reservoirs and dikes monitored.
Fishing boats and merchant ships have also been ordered to return to port,the official Xinhua news Agency said,while a number of local airports have been closed.
China's commercial capital of Shanghai is also threatened by the typhoon,Xinhua reported,with rivers swelling to dangerous levels.
Taiwan battered
In Taiwan,workers started clearing up the debris after the first typhoon to hit Taiwan this year.
Weather forecasters said torrential rain would continue to pummel Taiwan through to Wednesday,and warned residents to watch out for flash floods and landslides.
Haitang has already dumped more than one meter (over 3 feet) of rain on mountainous areas.
The storm turned the Taiwanese capital Taipei into a virtual ghost town on Monday with offices,businesses and schools closing.Taiwan's financial markets and airports were also ordered closed.
Journalist Ting Wai Tu from ETTV said there had been instances of collapsed bridges and mudslides,and of farmers attempting to save livestock.
"The Central Weather Bureau gave an advance warning ...so people pretty much ...bought two days of food from supermarkets -- so they should be OK," said Ting.
Previous typhoons have brought deadly landslides and mudslides to Taiwan's countryside.
Typhoons and tropical storms frequently hit Taiwan,Japan the Philippines,Hong Kong and other parts of the southern coast of China during summer months.
On average,Taiwan is threatened by three to four typhoons every year.
In 2001,one of Taiwan's deadliest years for storms,Typhoon Toraji,killed 200 people.A few months later,Typhoon Nari caused Taipei's worst flooding on record and killed 100 people.