Typhoon Soudelor: deaths reported after storm hits south-east China
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Version 0 of 1. Typhoon Soudelor struck south-eastern China late on Saturday night and left more than a million homes the city of Putian without power. The storm system hit China’s Fujian province, downing trees, traffic lights and power lines, and left six people dead and four missing, China’s official Xinhua news agency said. Earlier Soudelor caused more than 3 million households in Taiwan to lose electricity. All 279 domestic flights on the island were cancelled on Saturday as well as at least 37 international flights. At least 101 people were injured in the storm. An eight-year-old girl and her mother died when they were swept out to sea Thursday from a beach on the east coast, Taiwan’s official Central News Agency reported. The girl’s twin sister remained missing on Sunday. Other casualties included a firefighter who was killed and another injured after being hit by a car while trying to move a fallen tree in the island’s south. The centre of the storm made landfall in eastern Taiwan before daybreak on Saturday. By mid-morning Soudelor had maximum sustained winds of 100 miles an hour (162km/h), Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau said. Related: Typhoon Soudelor: death toll rises as storm crosses Taiwan The typhoon weakened later on Saturday but strong winds and heavy rains were expected to continue. Authorities in south-east China evacuated about 163,000 people and ordered about 32,000 ships back to port, Xinhua reported. More than 7,000 soldiers and police were on standby, provincial authorities said. The provincial capital of Fuzhou was battered by heavy rain and strong winds, and all flights to the city were cancelled, Xinhua said. The neighbouring province of Jiangxi also issued a typhoon alert. Heavy rains were forecast through Sunday morning in the northern part of Fujian. Even before the storm made landfall, strong winds caused power outages to more than 1.41m households in the province, Xinhua said. On Friday afternoon marine police rescued 55 university students and teachers trapped on a small island where they had been attending a summer camp, after strong gales stopped ferry services, the agency said. The US government was sending more aid to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, where Soudelor last Sunday snapped utility poles and toppled trees, leaving residents without electricity and running water. President Barack Obama has declared the islands a disaster area and ordered federal aid to help the US territory. The Pacific Daily News reported that food, water, dry milk, power generators and temporary shelter were expected to arrive on the main island of Saipan this weekend. 31st MEU, USS Ashland transport water into #Saipan ISO @FEMA #TyphoonSoudelor relief efforts http://t.co/JqqKkHx2l0 pic.twitter.com/dEn14hOqgq The goods left Guam aboard the USS Ashland on Friday. Hundreds of marines are also on the amphibious dock landing ship, which was returning to Japan from a three-week military exercise off Australia but now redirected to Saipan. |