Southeast coast braces for typhoon as Taiwan cleans up
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-07-19 16:40

Typhoon Haitang swirled toward China's southeast coast Tuesday afternoon after killing up to six people in Taiwan, injuring 30 and wreaking damage estimated at US$40 million, the Reuters reported.

A family of three defies risks and appreciates giant waves whipped up by Typhoon Haitang outside Taiwan's northern city of Keelung yesterday. Haitang pounded Taiwan with heavy winds and rain, killing at least one and injuring 58 people and shutting down airports and financial markets. [AFP]

But as southeastern coast prepared for the worst, the once-fierce storm was losing some of its power, packing maximum winds of 119 km/h (74 mph) and gusts of up to 155 km/h, making it a moderate typhoon, said Taiwan's weather bureau.

In the rice-growing provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang, more than 860,000 people were evacuated from coastal areas, state media said.

Five thousand police were mobilized and reservoirs and dikes were under surveillance, as heavy rains caused a landslide in Zhejiang. No casualties were reported in the Chinese coast. However, there was no electricity in eight towns of Zhejiang.

Authorities in Fujian and Zhejiang had also ordered back to port some 17,000 fishing and merchant ships with a total of more than 300,000 aboard.

Ferry services and some flights in the area were canceled as residents prepared for the onslaught.

"I stored some water and food after I heard the news," the China Daily quoted Huang Liying, a resident of the Fujian capital Fuzhou, as saying.

"Who knows whether power and water supplies will be cut off when the typhoon comes?" she said.