More Than One Million Evacuated As Typhoon Khanun Slams Into East China

SINO DAILY

Rescuers carry an elderly woman and her belongings to safety in Taizhou, eastern China's Zhejiang province 11 September 2005. More than 800,000 people were evacuated from their homes in China's eastern province of Zhejiang as Typhoon Khanun was expected to batter six cities in the coastal province. China Out/ AFP photo.

Beijing (AFP) Sep 11, 2005
More than a million people were evacuated from their homes in China's eastern province of Zhejiang as Typhoon Khanun hit the region Sunday, state media reported.

Typhoon Khanun was expected to batter major cities in the coastal province and neighbouring Shanghai, Xinhua news agency said, citing local meteorological bureaus.

Strong winds and torrential rains brought by Khanun have already inundated some counties and towns in Zhejiang and caused blackouts in parts of the province, but there were no reports of any injuries so far, it said.

More than a million residents in areas affected by the typhoon have been moved to safer places, and more than 37,625 ships and boats have returned to harbour, according to Zhejiang authorities.

The commercial metropolis of Shanghai had evacuated more than 100,000 people and upgraded its typhoon emergency warning from yellow to red, Xinhua said.

Some 116 flights from Shanghai's airports were cancelled Sunday evening, with Khanun expected to bring torrential rains to the city from late Sunday to Monday morning, the agency said. A flight from Melbourne was diverted to the southern city of Guangzhou.

All Shanghai schools would be closed on Monday, a first for the city, Xinhua said.

The Zhejiang provincial government has called on relevant departments to be fully prepared for floods and to safeguard life and property.

It also warned people to be aware of landslides, which could result from the torrential rains.

The typhoon is the 15th to hit China this year, according to official statistics.

Television footage showed large waves crashing into the shoreline areas of Zhejiang, while earlier police were seen transporting residents to shelters.

Earlier this month Typhoon Talim left at least 124 dead and 31 missing after slowly churning its way through the provinces of Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan and Hubei.

Some 19 million residents in those provinces were affected and 1.84 million of them had to be evacuated, according to state media.

Landslides and floods destroyed or damaged huge areas of farmland and some 374,000 houses, causing direct economic losses of 15.4 billion yuan (1.9 billion dollars).

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