The Typhoon slammed into Taiwan on July 24 night, bringing Category 3 winds and heavy rain that triggered widespread flooding across the island.
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More than 27,000 people in Northeast China were evacuated and hundreds of factories were ordered to suspend production as Typhoon Gaemi brought heavy rains, the official Xinhua news agency reported on July 27.

Gaemi lashed towns on China’s coastal Fujian province on July 26 with heavy rains and strong winds as the most powerful storm to hit the country this year began its widely watched trek from the Southeastern coast into the populous interior.

The storm, which killed dozens as it swept through Taiwan and worsened seasonal rains in the Philippines, has affected almost 630,000 people in China’s Fujian province, with almost half of them being relocated, Xinhua has reported.

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Heavy rains caused water levels to rise in 40 reservoirs across Liaoning province, the area is expected to experience torrential rain for the next few days, the report said.

Hundreds of chemical and mining companies across the province have suspended operations and nearby residents have been relocated to avoid flood risks, Xinhua said.

Residents of Manila occupy a basketball court as their homes were flooded by Typhoon Gaemi on July 24, 2024.
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Authorities evacuated nearly 300,000 people and suspended public transport across eastern China on July 26, as Typhoon Gaemi brought torrential rains already responsible for five deaths in nearby Taiwan.

Gaemi was the strongest typhoon to hit Taiwan in eight years when it made landfall on July 25, flooding parts of the island’s second-biggest city.

It also exacerbated seasonal rains in the Philippines on its path to Taiwan, triggering flooding and landslides that killed 20 people.

A tanker carrying 1.4 million litres of oil sank off Manila on July 25, with authorities racing to contain a fuel spill.

It had weakened by the time it made landfall in China’s eastern Fujian province shortly before 8:00 p.m. local time (1200 GMT) on July 25, state media said.

China is enduring a summer of extreme weather, with heavy rains across the east and south coming as much of the north has sweltered under successive heatwaves.

The country is by far the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, which scientists say are driving climate change and making extreme weather more frequent and intense.

Heavy rains

Chinese authorities warned Typhoon Gaemi was bringing with it torrential rains that could cause flooding.

They have relocated more than 290,000 people in Fujian and shut down public transport, offices, schools and markets in some cities.

In neighbouring Zhejiang province, footage aired by state broadcaster CCTV Friday showed streets turned into rivers, trees strewn over roads and bikes struggling through knee-high waters.

The province’s Wenzhou city — home to nine million people — has issued its highest warning for rainstorms and evacuated nearly 7,000 people, CCTV said.

The typhoon will also bring heavy rainfall to central Jiangxi and Henan, state media said.

Guangdong, China’s most populous province, suspended some passenger train services on July 26 ahead of the typhoon’s expected arrival, CCTV said.

Citing the official China Weather Network, the broadcaster said the typhoon was moving northwestward at about 20 kilometres per hour.

It will “gradually weaken” as it makes its way to Jiangxi on July 26 in the late afternoon, it said.

No deaths or injuries have yet been reported.

The north of the country has this week also been hit by showers, with state media saying Friday that heavy rains had killed one and left three missing in the northwestern province of Gansu.

At a meeting of the country’s top leadership chaired by President Xi Jinping on July 25, officials urged local authorities to stay “highly vigilant and proactive” as the country entered peak flooding season.

China bridge collapse: A view of the bridge that was damaged due to heavy storms and flooding, in Zhashui County in Shangluo City, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, onJuly 20, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

“Eleven people are dead and more than 30 remain missing after a bridge in northern China collapsed amid torrential rains,” state broadcaster CCTV reported on July 20.

“The bridge over a river in Shaanxi province’s Shangluo collapsed at around 8.40 p.m. on July 19 (1240 GMT) “due to a sudden downpour and flash floods”,” official news agency Xinhua said, citing the provincial public relations department.

“Nearly 20 vehicles and more than 30 people” remained missing after the highway bridge collapsed into the river below,” CCTV said. “All 11 confirmed victims were found inside five vehicles that had so far been recovered from the water,” the broadcaster said.

Images on state TV showed a partially submerged section of the bridge with the river rushing over it. Large portions of northern and central China have been battered since Tuesday by rains that have caused flooding and significant damage.

On July 19, state media reported that at least five people dead and eight missing after the rains sparked flooding and mudslides in Shaanxi’s Baoji city.

State television broadcast images of neighbourhoods completely flooded by muddy water, with excavators and residents attempting to clear the damage.

Extreme weather

The semi-desert province of Gansu, which neighbours Shaanxi and Henan in central China, was also hit by heavy rains this week. In the Henan city of Nanyang, the equivalent of a year’s worth of rain poured at the start of the week, according to CCTV.

China is enduring a summer of extreme weather, with heavy rains across the east and south coming as much of the north has sweltered in successive heat waves.

In May, a highway in southern China collapsed after days of rain, leaving 48 dead. Earlier this month, a tornado passed through a town in eastern China killing one, injuring 79 and causing significant damage.