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China evacuates more than a million as Typhoon Saomai approaches
By Karl Malakunas
AFP
BEIJING
Petroleumworld.com 08 10 06
More than 1.3 million people were evacuated from their homes in southeast China as the region, already suffering from two months of devastating weather, prepared for Typhoon Saomai to make landfall Thursday.
Saomai, with winds of over 216 kilometers (135 miles) an hour, was expected to reach the provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang late Thursday afternoon or evening after pounding Taiwan earlier in the day, the Xinhua news agency said.
While no major damage was reported in Taiwan, authorities in mainland China were preparing for the worst following seven previous storms or typhoons in the southeast over the past two months that have claimed well over 1,000 lives.
In Fujian 569,000 people had been evacuated while another 760,000 people were forced to leave their homes in Zhejiang, Xinhua said.
All 10,286 ships and 35,282 fishermen based in Fujian had returned to harbor by Wednesday evening, while outdoor activities in all 26,800 schools in the province were suspended on Thursday, according to Xinhua.
As much as 25 centimeters (10 inches) of rain was expected to be dumped on Fujian over the next few days, Xinhua said, citing provincial observatory and government officials.
In Zhejiang, the neighboring province to the north which lies just below Shanghai, 33,727 ships had returned to port.
Provincial officials warned that Saomai appeared to be even more powerful than Typhoon Rananim, which struck in August 2004 and killed 164 people in Zhejiang alone, Xinhua said.
The agency quoted Zhejiang forecasters as saying Wenzhou, a port city of more than one million people, would be under a "head-on" attack.
Wenzhou municipal authorities issued an emergency notice early Thursday, ordering all businesses immediately to cease operations and make proper preparations for the onslaught.
Hong Kong authorities canceled or delayed 17 flights to Taiwan as torrential rains and strong winds swept parts of the island.
Saomai, named after the Vietnamese word for the planet Venus, closely followed Prapiroon, a typhoon that made landfall last week in southeast China and killed at least 80 people.
State media said on Wednesday that natural disasters killed nearly 987 people, left another 310 missing and caused 68.8 billion yuan (8.6 billion dollars) in economic losses across China in July.
The government said in late July that more than 1,300 people had been killed and 306 were missing from weather-related incidents from the start of May to July 21.
Bopha, forecast to be the ninth tropical storm to hit China this year, was following close behind Saomai.
Two storms moving together can enhance each other's strength to create an even stronger climatic event, Xinhua quoted meteorologists as warning.
AFP 10 0842 GMT 08 06
Copyright ©2006 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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