The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Killer typhoon’s new strike
Schools closed and flights cancelled as Megi claims new casualties
A massive typhoon has left one person dead in eastern China, a day after killing four and injuring more than 600 in Taiwan, where authorities remained on alert for the possibility of a landslide.
Typhoon Megi caused more than $ 10million worth of damage as it swept across Taiwan before weakening into a tropical storm after hitting the coastal city of Quanzhou in China’s Fujian province before dawn yesterday, Taiwan’s weather service said.
At its height, it was packing winds of up to 74mph, China’s National Meteorological Centre said.
One person died after several structures collapsed in Quanzhou, the official China News Service reported. Schools were closed and dozens of flights were cancelled.
In Fuzhou, Fujian’s capital, state television showed people wading through knee-deepwaterwhichhad swamped major roads. Rescue workers were seen pulling stranded residents through the streets on inflatable boats.
The storm was forecast to move north-west yesterday and gradually fade away.
In Taiwan, nearly four million homes lost power and 10 provincial highways remained closed yesterday, a day after heavy rain and sustained winds of100mph blanketed the island, Taiwan’s official Central News Agency reported. More than 4,800 people remained in emergency shelters yesterday afternoon.
Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operations Centre reported that the 625 injured included eight Japanese tourists travelling in a tour bus which overturned in central Taiwan. Three people suffered fatal falls and a fourth person died in a truck crash, the centre said.
Many of the injurieswere caused by falling and windblown objects. Three state utility workers were injured when their truck tumbled into a valley while they were trying to restore power in a mountainous area.
Aspokesmanfor the centre said emergency officials were closely monitoring Taiwan’s mountain regions for possible landslides.