Massive typhoon triggers warnings of landslide

A massive typhoon left one person dead in eastern China on Wednesday, a day after killing four and injuring more than 600 in Taiwan, where authorities remained on alert for the possibility of a landslide.

More than 500 people were hurt when the storm raked across the island, including eight Japanese tourists whose bus was blown over. One remains in a critical condition.

Typhoon Megi caused more than $10 million (Dh36.7 million) in damage as it swept across Taiwan before weakening into a tropical storm after hitting the coastal city of Quanzhou in China’s Fujian province before dawn, Taiwan’s weather service said. At its height, it was packing winds of up to 118 kilometres per hour, China’s National Meteorological Center said.

One person died after several structures collapsed in Quanzhou, the official China News Service reported. Schools were closed and dozens of flights were cancelled.

In Fuzhou, Fujian’s capital, people were shown on state television walking through knee-deep waters that had swamped major roads. Rescue workers were seen pulling stranded residents through the streets on inflatable boats.

The storm was forecast to move northwest Wednesday and gradually fade away.

In Taiwan, nearly 4 million homes lost power and 10 provincial highways remained closed Wednesday, one day after heavy rain and sustained winds of 160 kilometres per hour blanketed the island, Taiwan’s official Central News Agency reported. More than 4,800 people remained in emergency shelters Wednesday afternoon.

Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operations Center reported that the 625 injured included eight Japanese tourists travelling in a tour bus that turned on its side in central Taiwan. Three people suffered fatal falls and a fourth person died in a truck crash, Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operations Center said.

Many of the injuries were from falling and windblown objects. Three state utility workers were injured when their truck tumbled into a valley while they were trying to restore power in a mountainous area, the Central News Agency reported.

A spokesman for the centre said Wednesday that emergency officials were closely monitoring Taiwan’s mountain regions for possible landslides. They were also working to restore power and water.

Megi was 500 kilometres in diameter at its largest, and rainfall had topped 300 millimetres in the south and eastern mountains of Taiwan.

More than 8,000 people were evacuated, mostly from mountainous areas at risk of landslides or floods. The weather forced the cancellation of 224 flights at Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport. Authorities had closed schools, offices and most of Taiwan’s railway system Tuesday.

Megi was the fourth typhoon of the year to hit Taiwan and third in the last two weeks.

On the Chinese coast, about 160 kilometres from Taiwan at its nearest point, fishing boats were ordered back to port, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said.

Around 4,300 people remained in temporary shelters with more than 14,800 evacuated from their homes, according to Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operation Centre.

At its peak, Megi knocked out power for close to 3.8 million households, the second worst on record after the outage caused by Typhoon Soudelor in August 2015.

A million households were still without power on Wednesday.

“Fallen trees and signboards brought down many power lines and electrical poles, leading to severe power outages across the island,” Taiwan Power Company said.

Authorities were rushing to clear blocked roads Wednesday, including those leading to mountainous villages in the popular hot springs town of Wulai.

Wulai, one of the areas worst hit by Soudelor, had evacuated 200 residents ahead of the storm.

“The river swelled and flooded the old street, damaging basements of some homes,” Shen Hui-kang, a spokesman at Wulai’s district office, said

source : gulfnews