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China evacuates over 600,000 as typhoon nears

Posted on: Monday, 18 July 2005, 09:10 CDT

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.

Source: REUTERS

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