Typhoon Mekkhala makes powerful landfall in Fujian province, leaving many residents stranded and houses damaged.
Roofs fly off, services halted as typhoon strikes Fujian
Mekkhala, the sixth typhoon of this year, made landfall in east China’s Fujian province, bringing with it strong winds and torrential rain.
The typhoon landed in the coastal areas of Zhangpu county yesterday at around 7.30am, bringing gales of up to 33m per second near its eye, according to local meteorological authorities.
Strong gales and torrential rain toppled trees and houses, trapped tourists and caused hazards on roads in Zhangzhou city, which administers Zhangpu county as well as in the coastal city of Xiamen.
In a highway service zone of Zhangzhou, dozens of vehicles took shelter from high winds on the roadside yesterday morning.
Two police officers also stood in front of a toppled tree close to another highway rest stop within the city to warn upcoming cars of the danger.
Roofs of some wooden houses at a tourist site in Zhangpu county were torn off by gales, while a total of 30 tourists were trapped at the attraction.
All of them were later evacuated to a safe place.
The gales and heavy rains have disrupted local traffic.
Some trains have been ordered to stop services in the province.
Gaoqi airport in Xiamen cancelled 51 outbound flights on Monday and more than 30 flights yesterday morning.
Passenger ferries were ordered to suspend services in affected areas.
Gong Jinwei, a staff member of Xiamen Ferry Co Ltd, said the tourist routes were suspended on Monday afternoon and all of the company’s 28 vessels had returned to harbour.
The service will be resumed until further notice.
The Xiamen flood control office said that more than 5,600 fishing boats had been moored and over 3,200 people had been evacuated to land.
China’s national observatory on Monday issued a yellow alert for Mekkhala, which will bring gales to the country’s eastern and southern coastal regions.
China has a four-tier colourcoded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe weather, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
Mekkhala weakened into a strong tropical storm yesterday morning.
“Some parts of the province will still experience downpours,” said Zheng Guo’en, an official with the Fujian provincial department of water resources.
He added that no casualties had been reported so far.
Heavy rains lashed more than 80 cities and counties in Fujian.
From 6am on Monday to 11am yesterday, Zhangpu county saw over 170mm of rainfall.
Thousands of rescue workers have been put on standby for potential disaster relief.
Typoon Mekkhala was the second one that landed in coastal areas of east China over the past week.
Last Tuesday, Hagupit, the fourth typhoon of this year, landed in east China’s Zhejiang province, packing winds of 38m per second near its centre.