Shanghai:

China warned on Saturday of big waves, heavy rain and strong wind as Typhoon Koinu approaches the southern province of Guangdong and Hainan island.

Waves of up to nine metres were expected in the South China Sea under the impact of the storm on Saturday and Sunday, the State Oceanic Administration said as it issued an orange alert, the second highest in a four-coloured warning system.

Koinu, which means “puppy” in Japanese, is heading west along China’s southern coast at a speed of 5-10 kph, the National Meteorological Centre.

It is expected to weaken into a strong tropical storm from late on Monday.

Koinu had killed one person and injured almost 400 people in Taiwan, causing some of the most extensive damage on remote Orchid Island off the island’s east coast.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A worker clears leaves and branches of trees fallen by the road after Typhoon Koinu passed the southern tip of Taiwan, near Jinlun, Taiwan on October 5, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

China warned on October 7 of big waves, heavy rain and strong wind as Typhoon Koinu approaches the southern province of Guangdong and Hainan island.

Waves of up to nine metres were expected in the South China Sea under the impact of the storm on Saturday and Sunday, the State Oceanic Administration said as it issued an orange alert, the second highest in a four-coloured warning system.

Koinu, which means “puppy” in Japanese, is heading west along China’s southern coast at a speed of 5-10 kph, the National Meteorological Centre.

It is expected to weaken into a strong tropical storm from late on Monday.

Koinu had killed one person and injured almost 400 people in Taiwan, causing some of the most extensive damage on remote Orchid Island off the island’s east coast.

Beijing:

Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes and vehicles were swept away in floods as storms from now weakened Typhoon Haikui made landfall in China’s southeastern Fujian province early on Tuesday after battering Taiwan for the past two days.

About 114,400 people were moved from risky areas as the typhoon rolled in with a maximum wind speed of 20 metres (66 feet) per second.

Several areas in Fujian recorded more than 300 mm (1 foot) of rainfall in just over 24 hours. In Fuzhou city, two firefighters were missing after a fire truck carrying nine rescue workers was swept away by floodwaters during a mission, state media reported.

Furniture were seen bobbing up and down in the floodwaters. Vehicles were swept away in the currents and some cars stranded in waterlogged areas were completely submerged, social media posts showed. Schools in Fuzhou city as well as in Xiamen, Quanzhou and Putian were also shut.

Many flights were cancelled at two airports in Fuzhou and Quanzhou, tourist spots and parks were shut, and ports, coastal and river transportation was suspended, state media reported.

The typhoon lost strength and became a tropical storm after its landfall around 5 a.m. (2100 GMT Monday), the national forecaster reported. It was last reported to be moving over southern Guangdong province, and forecasters expect it to continue to weaken.

Haikui slammed into the province just after Typhoon Saola barrelled into southern Guangdong province over the weekend, killing at least one person and leaving a trail of destruction and flooding in many areas of nearby Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macau.

Last month, northern and northeasten China saw heavy flooding caused by Typhoons Doksuri and Khanun which brought the capital Beijing its heaviest recorded rainfall in 140 years.

On Tuesday, the state broadcaster said the government would allocate 200 million yuan ($27.43 million) in disaster relief funds to support provinces hit by typhoons and floods.

Over the weekend, the finance ministry said it had earmarked 1 billion yuan as disaster relief funds for floods, droughts or crop pests, state media Xinhua said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Boats with Chinese and Hong Kong flags are berthed at the Shau Kei Wan Typhoon Shelter as Super Typhoon Saola approaches Hong Kong on September 1, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

Most of Hong Kong and other parts of southern China ground to a near standstill on September 1 with classes and flights cancelled as Super Typhoon Saola edged closer.

The typhoon could make a landfall in southern China and many workers stayed at home. Students in various cities saw the start of their school year postponed to next week. Hong Kong’s stock market trading was suspended and more than 400 flights were cancelled or delayed in the key centre for regional business and travel.

Mainland Chinese rail authorities ordered all trains entering or leaving Guangdong province to be suspended from Friday night to early evening Saturday, state media CCTV reported.

The Hong Kong Observatory raised a No. 8 typhoon signal, the third-highest warning under the city’s weather system, early Friday. Its forecast said Saola — with maximum sustained winds of 210 km (130 miles) per hour — would be closest to the financial hub on Friday night and Saturday morning, skirting within about 50 km (30 miles) south of the city’s shopping district Tsim Sha Tsui.

The observatory’s director, Chan Pak-wai, said on Thursday the alert might be upgraded to a No. 10 signal if the strength of the winds reached hurricane levels. The No. 10 hurricane signal is the highest warning under its system and was last hoisted when Super Typhoon Mangkhut hit Hong Kong in 2018.

Chan expected the winds would gradually weaken on Saturday as the typhoon moves away from Hong Kong.

The observatory warned serious flooding might occur in low-lying coastal areas and that the maximum water level might be similar to that when Mangkhut felled trees and tore scaffolding off buildings under construction in the city.

As the city braced for heavy rains and strong winds on Friday morning, about 190 people sought refuge at temporary shelters, with some ferry and bus services halted. Residents living in low-lying areas had placed sand bags at their doors to prevent their homes being flooded. The government received two reports of fallen trees and three flooding cases. One man was injured during the typhoon period and sought treatment at a public hospital.

Weather authorities in the nearby casino hub of Macao also warned of flooding, forecasting that the water level might reach up to 1.5 metres (5 feet) in low-lying areas on Saturday morning. The cross-border bridge connecting Hong Kong, Macao and Zhuhai city would be closed in mid-afternoon.

In the technology and finance hub Shenzhen, its emergency management bureau ordered to suspend work and businesses starting from late afternoon, as the typhoon was expected to make landfall in the city or its nearby areas on Friday night. All entries to highways in the city would be banned starting from 7 p.m. until further notice, except for rescue crews.

China’s National Meteorological Center said Saola could make landfall from Huidong County to Taishan city in Guangdong province, neighbouring Hong Kong, between Friday night and Saturday morning. But it also did not rule out it would move west near the shore of central Guangdong.

Another storm, Haikui, was gradually moving toward the coastal areas of eastern China. Coupled with the influence of Saola, parts of Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang provinces would see strong winds and heavy rains, according to a website run by China Meteorological Administration. By Thursday night, some 1,00,000 people living in dangerous areas in Fujian were relocated to other safer places.

Saola passed just south of Taiwan on Wednesday before turning to mainland China, with the storm’s outer bands hitting the island’s southern cities with torrential rain. The typhoon also lashed the Philippines earlier this week, displacing tens of thousands of people in the northern part of the islands because of flooding.

In recent months, China had some of the heaviest rains and deadliest flooding in years across various regions, with scores killed, including in outlying mountainous parts of the capital Beijing.