Typhoon Aere lashed Fuqing in east China's coastal Fujian
Province yesterday afternoon.
The typhoon, packing strong force 12 winds and heavy rains,
uprooted trees and comes just two weeks after Typhoon Rananim
wreaked havoc in the same coastal area, killing over 160 and
causing billions of yuan worth of damage.
Early reports say one person has died and four are missing
following three shipping accidents caused by high seas. Two people
are reported as injured.
There were no reports of further casualties. Some 220,000 people
have been evacuated to safer areas in Fujian.
Aere continues to move southwestwards and is predicted to sweep
through southern and central parts of Fujian and head towards
Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces, according to Fujian Meteorology
Observatory.
Inland Longyan and Sanming cities are expected to embrace strong
winds of force 7 to 8.
Putian City in Fujian Province issued a red weather-warning
signal yesterday morning, making full preparations to fight the
attack.
Color-coded weather warnings labeled blue, yellow, orange and
red in ascending order matching national standards of severity of
the 11 extreme weather conditions and red is the most serious
one.
Ships between the coastal city of Xiamen, and Jinmen, an island
near Taiwan Province, were cancelled from yesterday and will resume
normal operation on Friday.
The freeway between Fuzhou and Xiamen was closed to traffic
except buses traveling on local short-distance routes.
Public transportation was operating normally in Fuzhou, said
Fuzhou Bus Company officials.
Fujian education authority yesterday requested all the schools
to stop all student activities, including summer camps and field
work.
Colleges have been asked to postpone their enrollment dates.
Fuzhou Changle International Airport delayed 16 flights and
cancelled seven due to the bad weather.
Experts with the Central Meteorological Observatory said Aere
was expected to be the second most powerful typhoon to ravage
eastern and southern China this year -- and just two weeks after
typhoon Rananim killed 164 people in East China's Zhejiang Province
and caused 18.128 billion yuan (US$2.18 billion) in damage.
Fearing a repeat of the disaster, the Zhejiang government
evacuated 249,000 people after it was predicted as landfall site of
Typhoon Aere.
Aere's wrath is likely to be felt across a large area with
torrential rains expected in south China's Guangdong
Province in the coming two days.
Taiwan is expected to receive a protracted battering and
residents have been warned of catastrophic rainfall and dangerous
road conditions, the Taipei Times reported.
Schools, offices, and financial districts remained closed
yesterday in Taipei and counties in northern, central and
northeastern parts of the island.
Bad weather is forecast to continue today and further warnings
have been given to people in mountainous and low-lying areas on
guard against possible landslides.
(China Daily August 26, 2004)