Authorities evacuated over 300,000 people and shut public transportation across eastern China as Typhoon Gaemi poured torrential rains, which had already killed five people in adjacent Taiwan.
Gaemi, Taiwan’s fiercest typhoon in eight years, made landfall on Thursday, flooding areas of the island’s second-largest city.
It also intensified seasonal rains in the Philippines as it traveled to Taiwan, resulting in flooding and landslides that killed 20 people.
On Thursday, a tanker carrying 1.4 million liters of oil sank off Manila, prompting authorities to rush to stop a fuel spill. China is experiencing a summer of unusual weather, with torrential rains in the east and south while most of the north has been sweltering in successive heat waves.
China is experiencing a summer of unusual weather, with torrential rains in the east and south while most of the north has been sweltering in successive heat waves.
Guangdong, China’s most populous province, stopped some passenger train services on Friday in preparation for the typhoon’s scheduled arrival, according to CCTV.
The programme cited the official China Weather Network as saying the typhoon was moving northwestward at around 20 km/h. There have been no deaths or injuries recorded yet.
The north of the country has also been affected by showers this week, with state media reporting on Friday that torrential rains killed one and left three people missing in the northwestern province of Gansu.
At a meeting of the country’s senior leadership convened by President Xi Jinping on Thursday, officials advised local governments to remain “highly vigilant and proactive” as the country enters peak flooding season.
