Hundreds of thousands left homeless in two provinces after fierce storm hits
Damage caused by Typhoon Saomai could take months to repair, with hundreds of thousands of people in Fujian and Zhejiang left homeless by the fiercest storm to hit the mainland in half a century.
Saomai weakened to a tropical storm yesterday and moved inland into Jiangxi province . But it left a trail of devastation in Zhejiang and Fujian.
At least 4 million people were affected in the two provinces, with more than 300 killed or missing. Many cities and towns lost power and water supplies, and were cut off from the outside.
In the Zhejiang county of Cangnan where Saomai made landfall late on Thursday afternoon, many people found their houses destroyed after returning from typhoon shelters.
'People sifted through the ruins to recover whatever they could find. The streets were littered with shattered glass and debris. It is a horrible sight,' said a reporter from a local TV station.
'I saw an old woman sitting in front of piles of rubble and crying. She said she had lived there for decades and was now homeless.'