1.35 mln people evacuated as Muifa nears
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Xinhua, August 9, 2011
About 1.35 million people were evacuated as the tropical storm Muifa brushed past China's eastern coast, according to the National Disaster Reduction Committee Monday.
![Photo taken on August 8, 2011 shows the big waves at the coast in Yantai, East China's Shandong province. More than 360,000 people were evacuated in East China's Shandong province on Monday as tropical storm Muifa continues to move along the country's eastern coast. [Xinhua]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/jpg/site1007/20110809/0014222d98500faabcb007.jpg "Photo taken on August 8, 2011 shows the big waves at the coast in Yantai, East China's Shandong province. More than 360,000 people were evacuated in East China's Shandong province on Monday as tropical storm Muifa continues to move along the country's eastern coast. [Xinhua]") |
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Photo taken on August 8, 2011 shows the big waves at the coast in Yantai, East China's Shandong province. More than 360,000 people were evacuated in East China's Shandong province on Monday as tropical storm Muifa continues to move along the country's eastern coast. [Xinhua] |
Muifa passed by China and made a landfall on the northwestern coast of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) at around 6:30 p.m. Monday, said a spokesman with the Water Resources Department of Liaoning Province, which borders the DPRK.
Since Thursday, downpours and winds have have battered 183 counties in Liaoning, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shandong regions, according to a statement from the committee.
As of 4 p.m. Monday, the storm had toppled more than 600 houses and damaged 4,800 others, causing direct economic losses of about 3.1 billion yuan (480 million U.S. dollars), said the statement.
Muifa, the ninth typhoon to hit China this year, swirled into the East China Sea on Friday morning and weakened to a tropical storm on Sunday.
About 490,000 people were evacuated in the worst-affected provinces of Liaoning and Shandong.
In the southern part of Liaoning, about 130,000 people were evacuated and 39,000 fishing boats were called back to harbor.
The city of Dandong in Liaoning has set up a total of 756 temporary shelters that are capable of accommodating over 1 million people, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.
More than 360,000 people were evacuated in Shandong, with no casualties reported in the province.
According to the provincial meteorological observatory, the storm has unleashed torrential rain in the coastal areas, soaking as many as 85 counties and villages with precipitation levels of 50 to 100 mm.
From Saturday to Monday morning, over 60 flights were canceled in the harbor city of Qingdao in Shandong, local authorities said.
Since Monday night, the storm has begun affecting Jilin Province, which neighbors Liaoning.
The provincial meteorological authorities predicted heavy downpours and gales in Ji'an City in Jilin from Monday night to Tuesday.
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