Typhoon Soulik lashes eastern China after deadly Taiwan landfall
300,000 evacuated from Fujian province as storm arrives after killing two in Taiwan
More than 300,000 people were evacuated in the path of Typhoon Soulik, which reached Fujian province yesterday after lashing Taiwan, where the storm killed two people, disrupted flights and knocked out power to a million homes.
Soulik, packing winds of up to 118 kilometres per hour, made landfall on the Huangqi Peninsula in Fujian at 4pm. Authorities in Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces were closely monitoring reservoirs and dams to prevent possible floods and mudslides.
Soulik crossed northern Taiwan overnight, leaving two dead and injuring more than 100.
The dead were a 50-year-old police officer who was hit by a falling brick in the Taipei suburb of Tanshui and a 54-year-old woman from central Miaoli county who died after falling from the roof of her home.
In Taichung, a man was missing after falling into a river. At least 104 people were injured, mostly by tree branches or flying debris.
About 250,000 homes were still without power yesterday afternoon, after more than a million lost electricity, Taiwan Power Co. said.
Soulik battered the northeast coast of Taiwan from 3am, with winds of up to 190 kilometres an hour, Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said.