Fung Wong causes evacuations of 750,000 in SE China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-07-30 22:05

BEIJING - A total of 751,600 people have been evacuated across southeast China in the path of Fung Wong, the eighth tropical storm to hit the country this year.

The Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Wednesday said the evacuations had occurred in Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces.

The typhoon had affected livelihoods of 3.86 million people in Zhejiang and Fujian, flooded 112,000 hectares of farms and destroyed more than 1,500 houses. No deaths had been reported.

The eye of the storm has moved to eastern Jiangxi Province with winds up to 61.2 kilometers per hour, down from 119 km per hour when it landed in Fujian late on Monday, according to a forecast at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

The possibility of further flooding remained as Fung Wong was likely to cause more heavy rains in the east of the country, the office warned.

The tropical storm would move northeast into Anhui and Shandong provinces, bringing with it intensive rainfall, the provincial meteorological observatories predicted.

"We have ordered local governments to take measures against possible floods in mountain areas and cities," said Cheng Dianlong, vice director of the state office.