Storm lashes east with rain and wind
Typhoon brings torrential downpours as it moves inland, weakens after killing 2 in Taiwan
The nation's east was lashed yesterday by torrential downpours from Typhoon Soulik, which forced the evacuation of half a million people after killing two people in Taiwan.
Soulik whipped coastal Fujian with winds of 118km/h when it made landfall on Saturday but weakened to a tropical depression as it moved inland, reaching Jiangxi province early yesterday, the China Meteorological Administration said.
More than half a million people were evacuated from Fujian and Zhejiang as Soulik approached, with 5,500 soldiers poised to carry out relief work.
Xinhua said almost 31,000 ships were called back to port and 20 flights cancelled.
The port city of Xiamen received 240mm of rain over the weekend. Rivers swelled beyond warning levels in some areas, and waves of up to 10 metres pounded sea defences in the city of Ningde .
The seventh storm to hit the mainland this year, Soulik entered Jiangxi at about 4am, bringing up to 200mm of rain within five hours and winds of 65km/h, local authorities said.
In Taiwan, two people were killed, one was missing and 104 people were injured by the typhoon, with one town reporting widespread landslides and floodwaters a storey high.
