Typhoon Talim pounded east China's Fujian Province yesterday afternoon with strong winds, forcing local schools, roads and airports to close, and coastal areas have suffered rainstorms and gales since Wednesday.

The powerful storm forced the closure of Changle International Airport in the provincial capital of Fuzhou and affected 11 flights in an airport in Quanzhou City. As of 10 PM on Thursday, a total of 45 domestic flights and three international flights had been canceled.

Several interprovincial highways were also temporarily closed yesterday.

According to the provincial observatory, Talim landed in the Putian region at 2:30 PM, with wind speeds of 126 kilometers per hour.

The provincial educational department issued an order earlier that day, the first of the new semester, to close all schools in six coastal cities for two days to ensure students' safety.

All schools are required to check the safety of their buildings and equipment before receiving students again.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters relocated 286,000 people and organized disaster relief teams. Yesterday, another 193,000 were evacuated.

A team from the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters has arrived in the province to supervise operations.

The Central Observatory said Talim, which has been downgraded to a strong tropical storm, will continue to affect the provinces of Guangdong, Zhejiang and Jiangsu, and Shanghai Municipality and several inland regions will see gales and downpours until the end of the week.

Local governments and disaster relief departments were warned to prepare for a barrage of rainstorms and landslides.

The storm is moving northwest and is expected to arrive in Jiangxi Province today with less power.

Reports that reached Hong Kong yesterday said two people were killed and 39 others injured when Talim swept over Taiwan on Thursday.

A 67-year-old man drowned in a fish pond in Tainan and a 43-year-old man drowned in a dike near his home in Miaoli. The injured were mostly hit by falling billboards or flying objects.

Taiwan Power Co. said that as of 11 AM yesterday, more than 1.45 million households on the island had experienced electricity disruption due to the typhoon.

(Xinhua News Agency September 2, 2005)