 |
|
||
 |
|||
 |
 |
 |
   | 
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
China prepares for Typhoon Haitang
RELATED
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSTAIPEI, Taiwan -- China has evacuated more than 500,000 people from southeastern coastal areas as it awaits the arrival of Typhoon Haitang, China's Xinhua News Agency reported. Fishing boats and merchant ships have also been ordered to return to port by authorities in the Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. With the storm expected to reach China late Monday or Tuesday, some 5,000 armed police have been mobilized to prepare for disaster relief and rescue operations. The full force of the storm was felt by Taiwan earlier on Monday after it made landfall just south of Taipei, the island's capital. The storm turned the city into a virtual ghost town with offices, businesses and schools closing. Taiwan's financial markets and airports were also ordered closed. Video showed flooding, shredded vegetation and dangling power lines as the typhoon lashed the city's deserted streets. Taiwanese media reported that rescue workers had recovered the body of a woman who had been swept into a river in Taoyuan county to the west of the Taipei. Heavy waves threatened the ports at Hualien and Suao, 45 miles to the north, while low-lying coastal areas are at risk of flooding. Around 1,500 people were evacuated from villages in the mountains and 1.3 million homes were without electricity as the storm dumped more than a meter of rain over high areas. Journalist Ting Wai Tu from ETTV said there had been instances of collapsed bridges and mudslides, and of farmers attempting to save livestock. "The Central Weather Bureau gave an advance warning ... so people pretty much ... bought two days of food from supermarkets -- so they should be OK," said Ting. Taipei spokesman Jack Yu said that domestic flights, train services and some international flights had been postponed or canceled. Yu said Haitang's impact had not been as bad as first feared, but said there were scattered reports of storm-related power outages, injuries and minor flooding within the city on Taiwan's northern tip. At 11:30 a.m. (11:30 p.m. EDT), the storm was centered in the Pacific Ocean about 40 miles (60 km) east of Hualien, Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said. The storm had sustained winds of 115 mph (184 kph), according to the bureau. CNN meteorologist Jenny Harrison said Haitang would continue to weaken as it crossed the island and would push through the Taiwan Straits over the next 24 hours. Previous typhoons have brought deadly landslides and mudslides to the Taiwanese countryside. Typhoons and tropical storms frequently hit Taiwan, Japan the Philippines, Hong Kong and other parts of the southern coast of China during summer months. On average, Taiwan is threatened by three to four typhoons every year. In 2001, one of Taiwan's deadliest years for storms, Typhoon Toraji, killed 200 people. A few months later, Typhoon Nari caused Taipei's worst flooding on record and killed 100 people. Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
| © 2007 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us. Site Map. |
|
External sites open in new window; not endorsed by CNN.com
Pay service with live and archived video. 
