One million evacuated, 13 dead as deadly typhoon hits China

, International

International Desk, Barta24.com | 2023-08-30 10:29:14

At least 13 people have been killed and more than a million forced from their homes as Typhoon Lekima hit China.

Sixteen people were also missing after a landslide was triggered by the storm, state media reported.

Lekima made landfall in the early hours of Saturday in Wenling, between Taiwan and China's financial capital Shanghai.

The storm was initially designated a "super typhoon", but weakened slightly before landfall - when it still had winds of 187km/h (116mph).

The fatal landslide happened when a dam broke in Wenzhou, near where the storm made landfall, state media said.

Lekima is now slowly winding its way north through the Zhejiang province, and is expected to hit Shanghai, which has a population of more than 20 million.

Emergency crews have battled to save stranded motorists from floods. Fallen trees and power cuts are widespread.

Shanghai evacuated some 250,000 residents, with another 800,000 in the Zhejiang province also being taken from their homes.

An estimated 2.7 million homes in the region lost power as power lines toppled in the high winds, Chinese state media said.

It is the ninth typhoon of the year, Xinhua news said - but the strongest storm seen in years. It was initially given China's highest level of weather warning but was later downgraded to an "orange" level.

Source: Xinhua

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