Typhoon slams into China coast 600 plus killed
Posted: Wed Jul 26, 2006 5:36 am
FUZHOU, China -- Typhoon Kaemi weakened into severe a tropical storm as it slammed into China's Fujian coast after lashing Taiwan.
The powerful storm brought strong winds and heavy rains to a region still recovering from typhoon Bilis, which killed more than 600 people.
More than two dozen flights out of Fujian's capital Fuzhou were canceled on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. State television showed rivers rising and heavy surf along the coastline earlier in the day.
With Kaemi was expected to head further inland, more than 3,000 police were on standby as the area braced itself for the fifth major storm this year.
Earlier Tuesday, the Typhoon lashed Taiwan's southeastern coast, disrupting trains and flights, and causing power outages to about 20,000 homes, AP reported. Previously it whipped into the Philippines with winds gusting more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour.
Trains returned to service but domestic flights to eastern and southern Taiwan remained halted Tuesday, officials told AP, urging residents to keep on guard as heavy rains were expected over the next few days.
Classes and government offices were shut in large parts of Taiwan except the capital, Taipei, AP said.
In China's Fujian province, authorities said 3,000 police are on standby with about 130 vans and 80 boats, preparing for the fifth typhoon to hit the nation this year.
Late on Tuesday afternoon, Kaemi was downgraded to a severe tropical storm.
Typhoon Bilis was the last to pass through, hitting China on July 14. The death toll stands at 612, Xinhua said, with 208 people missing.
Chinese state media quoted Vice Premier Hui Liangyu as saying the threat from Kaemi was "very severe."
In the eastern provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang, about 7,000 people from fishing families on coastal stilt houses, mostly the elderly and children, were ordered to return to shore on Monday.
About 30,000 others will be brought back to shore earlier on Tuesday.
Hui also ordered officials to watch rivers and reservoirs for flooding and keep an eye out for land slips that frequently bury mountain villages, Xinhua reported.
The storm was already bringing very hot weather and haze to the special administrative region of Hong Kong.
Kaemi is the Korean word for ant.
From early summer to late autumn, storms often hit southeast and eastern Asian, especially the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan and China.
The powerful storm brought strong winds and heavy rains to a region still recovering from typhoon Bilis, which killed more than 600 people.
More than two dozen flights out of Fujian's capital Fuzhou were canceled on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. State television showed rivers rising and heavy surf along the coastline earlier in the day.
With Kaemi was expected to head further inland, more than 3,000 police were on standby as the area braced itself for the fifth major storm this year.
Earlier Tuesday, the Typhoon lashed Taiwan's southeastern coast, disrupting trains and flights, and causing power outages to about 20,000 homes, AP reported. Previously it whipped into the Philippines with winds gusting more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour.
Trains returned to service but domestic flights to eastern and southern Taiwan remained halted Tuesday, officials told AP, urging residents to keep on guard as heavy rains were expected over the next few days.
Classes and government offices were shut in large parts of Taiwan except the capital, Taipei, AP said.
In China's Fujian province, authorities said 3,000 police are on standby with about 130 vans and 80 boats, preparing for the fifth typhoon to hit the nation this year.
Late on Tuesday afternoon, Kaemi was downgraded to a severe tropical storm.
Typhoon Bilis was the last to pass through, hitting China on July 14. The death toll stands at 612, Xinhua said, with 208 people missing.
Chinese state media quoted Vice Premier Hui Liangyu as saying the threat from Kaemi was "very severe."
In the eastern provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang, about 7,000 people from fishing families on coastal stilt houses, mostly the elderly and children, were ordered to return to shore on Monday.
About 30,000 others will be brought back to shore earlier on Tuesday.
Hui also ordered officials to watch rivers and reservoirs for flooding and keep an eye out for land slips that frequently bury mountain villages, Xinhua reported.
The storm was already bringing very hot weather and haze to the special administrative region of Hong Kong.
Kaemi is the Korean word for ant.
From early summer to late autumn, storms often hit southeast and eastern Asian, especially the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan and China.