China evacuates over 600,000 as typhoon nears

BEIJING (Reuters) – China evacuated over 600,000 people
from southeast coastal areas on Monday, ordered thousands of
boats into harbour and mobilized armed police as it nervously
braced for the arrival of typhoon Haitang, now pounding Taiwan.

Over the strait, high winds and torrential rain injured at
least 22 across the island and forced closure of schools,
government offices and financial markets. The weakening storm
was due to hit the China coast late Monday or Tuesday.

Authorities in China’s Fujian and Zhejiang provinces
ordered back to port some 17,000 fishing and merchant ships
with a total of more than 300,000 aboard, the Xinhua news
agency reported.

On land, officials in the rice-growing region evacuated
hundreds of thousands with homes in the storm’s projected path,
Xinhua said.

Some 5,000 armed police were mobilized to prepare for
disaster relief and rescue operations.

Travel services were suspended and seaside hotels in Fujian
closed to guests.

Haitang has packed maximum winds of 184 km/h, and gusts of
up to 227 km/h, Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau said. Local
media reported that four people had been killed, but officials
could not confirm that the deaths were due to the typhoon.

Among Chinese cities threatened by the storm was Wenzhou,
ae manufacturing hub which churns out everything from cigarette
lighters to shoes. With heavy rain expected from Monday
evening, nearly 80,000 people were evacuated.

Last year Typhoon Rananim killed at least 164 people in
China after battering Zhejiang and causing direct economic
losses of more than 16.4 billion yuan ($2 billion).

In Taiwan, Haitang has already dumped over 1 meter (3 ft 3
in) of rain on mountainous areas in the northeast, prompting
the government to warn of landslides and flash floods.

Around 1,500 people were evacuated from villages in the
mountains, and 1.3 million homes were without electricity.
International and domestic flights were suspended, railways
stopped running and seaports stopped loading.

Typhoons gather strength from warm sea waters and tend to
dissipate after making landfall. They hit Taiwan, Japan, the
Philippines, Hong Kong and southern China frequently during a
season that starts in early summer and lasts until late autumn.