Typhoon batters south China after missing Hong Kong

HONG KONG (Reuters) – A typhoon which killed 37 people in
the Philippines made landfall in south China on Thursday,
battering coastal Guangdong and Fujian provinces where hundreds
of thousands of people had fled to safety.

Typhoon Chanchu, packing winds up to 106 mph and the
strongest typhoon on record to enter the South China Sea in
May, made landfall between the cities of Shantou and Xiamen and
was advancing northeast, the Hong Kong Observatory said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage but
Chinese state television said heavy rain would extend as far
east as Shanghai and as far inland as Jiangxi province.

Typhoons, drawing power from the warm water, roar into
China from the South China Sea every year between May and
September, losing strength once they make landfall.

The eye of Chanchu crossed the Chinese coast half way
between Hong Kong and Taiwan, both often the victims of direct
hits.

The China News Service said Fujian had evacuated 578,000
people and state television reported that 320,000 people had
been moved to safety in Guangdong.

Thousands of ships were called back to port, schools
suspended classes and the government warned of flooding.

An ore-carrying Belgian ship with eight crew members was
stranded offshore and a Chinese rescue vessel was expected to
reach it on Thursday, state television said.

In Taiwan, rescuers winched to safety the crew of an oil
tanker that had run aground off the coast of Kaoshiung after
being hit by a large wave, television footage showed.

In the Philippines, Chanchu killed at least 37 people last
weekend and “affected” about 53,300 people in wide areas of
Luzon and the Visayas, the National Disaster Coordinating
Council said.