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https://scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3022302/least-22-dead-10-missing-typhoon-lekima-ravages-eastern-china People & Culture
At least 22 dead, 10 missing as Typhoon Lekima ravages eastern China
- More than 1 million people in Shanghai and neighbouring Zhejiang province were evacuated and more than 3,000 homes were damaged
- National Meteorological Center says Lekima has weakened to a strong tropical storm
Policemen helping people stranded by floods in Zhoushan City, a part of China’s Zhejiang Province, on Saturday. Typhoon Lekima, the ninth of the year, made landfall in Wenling City. Photo: Xinhua
Typhoon Lekima has left 22 people dead and 10 missing as it swept across China’s eastern coastal cities, Global Times reported.
More than 1 million people in Shanghai and neighbouring Zhejiang province have been evacuated due to the storm, which has damaged more than 3,000 homes, China Central Television reported. Lekima, which made landfall in Zhejiang early Saturday morning, has weakened to a strong tropical storm, according to the National Meteorological Center.
The centre has downgraded Lekima to yellow from orange, and has an orange rainstorm alert. China has a four-tier colour-coded system for severe weather, with red being the most serious, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
Lekima forced Shanghai to suspend services on several metro lines, according to the local government’s official WeChat account. Air China Ltd., China Eastern Airlines Corp. and China Southern Airlines Co. were among those that announced flight cancellations, and high-speed rail services were affected in multiple cities, according to local media. Shanghai and Hangzhou airports are restoring operations gradually, according to Ctrip’s flight tracking data and the local government.
Taiwanese airlines cancelled about 520 international and domestic flights, according to local aviation authorities.
Emergency units are working to repair roads, water and electricity, Global Times, a tabloid published by the Communist Party’s People’s Daily, reported on its weibo account.
Rescuers at work in Shanzao Village of Yantan Town in Zhejiang Province on Saturday. Photo: Xinhua
Mainland China’s main financial hub had braced for Lekima after the typhoon ravaged Taiwan and affected Japan. Government offices, schools and businesses, including financial markets, were shut across northern Taiwan Friday. More than 50,000 homes lost power overnight Thursday, though electricity was mostly restored by Friday morning.
Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operation Center reported at least one death and four injuries in the wake of the storm.
At least four people were hurt in Okinawa, while flights and ferries across the southern Japanese islands experienced widespread disruptions, according to a report by the Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau said Lekima had sustained wind speeds of 114mph (184km/h). Scott Hsieh, a senior meteorologist at CWB, said it was the strongest typhoon in the western Pacific so far this year.