Typhoon Doksuri makes landfall in East China

FUZHOU -- Typhoon Doksuri, the fifth typhoon of this year, made landfall in east China's Fujian Province on Friday morning, bringing with it powerful winds and heavy rain.

The typhoon landed in coastal areas of Jinjiang City at around 9:55 a.m., producing gales of up to 50 meters per second near its center, according to the Fujian provincial meteorological bureau.

Live footage shared on social media showed huge gusts of wind overturning a truck and shed roofs in the city of Quanzhou, which administers Jinjiang.

Doksuri is likely to become the strongest typhoon to make landfall in the south of Fujian since 2017, forcing the evacuation of people and the closure of businesses and schools.

By 2 p.m. Friday, Doksuri has affected over 724,600 people and 262.3 hectares of farmland in Fujian. Among them, 8.36 hectares suffered complete crop failure, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

The direct economic losses amounted to 52.27 million yuan (7.3 million U.S. dollars).

As of Friday morning, more than 416,000 people in Fujian had been evacuated to safe places, and another 30,000-plus personnel, including those involved in mariculture, had gone ashore, the headquarters said.

Over 800 ships of various types had returned to ports. A total of 463 tourist sites, 11,624 construction sites, and 202 port terminals had been closed, while all 89 passenger ferry routes had been suspended.

Fujian maintained its Level-I emergency response, the highest alert level, for the typhoon and heavy rain on Friday. Several coastal cities, such as Xiamen, Quanzhou, and Zhangzhou, have temporarily shut businesses, factories, and schools.

"We have prepared supplies such as purified water and instant noodles two or three days before the typhoon's arrival," said Liu Lihua, a Xiamen resident.

The typhoon also caused power cuts in parts of Xiamen, and workers are racing against time to restore power, according to the State Grid Xiamen Electric Power Supply Company.

Tens of thousands of rescue workers are on standby for potential disaster relief in the province.

Doksuri will likely continue moving in a northwestern direction as its intensity gradually weakens.

The National Meteorological Center on Friday renewed a red alert for Typhoon Doksuri, the most severe warning in its four-tier warning system, as it is expected to bring gales and heavy rain to the eastern and southern parts of the country.

Some coastal areas around the Bashi Channel, the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and coastal regions of Taiwan, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Guangdong, among others, will experience gales from Friday morning to 8 a.m. Saturday, according to the center.

During this period, parts of the provincial regions of Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, and Taiwan will experience heavy rain, and some areas in Zhejiang and Fujian will see heavy downpours of 250 to 280 mm, the center said.