Typhoon Gaemi hits Chinese seaboard, widespread flooding feared

BEIJING/TAIPE — Typhoon Gaemi roared into southeastern China on Thursday (July 25) after churning across the Taiwan Strait, prompting warnings of swelling rivers, flash floods and waterlogging in cities and provinces that were hit by extreme rains just several weeks ago.

Gaemi, the third and most powerful typhoon to hit China's eastern seaboard this year, made landfall in Fujian province at 7.50 pm (1150 GMT) after whipping Taiwan with gusts of up to 227 kph (141 mph), some of the strongest winds recorded in the Western Pacific Ocean.

Ahead of its arrival, 240,800 people in Fujian were evacuated.

Despite slightly weakening since its landfall in Fujian's Putian, a city of over 3 million, Gaemi and its giant cloud-bands are forecast to unleash intense rainfall in at least 10 Chinese provinces in the coming days.

The arrival of Gaemi has drawn comparisons with Typhoon Doksuri last year, which triggered historic flooding as far north as Beijing and caused nationwide losses of nearly US$30 billion (S$40 billion).

Authorities said water levels in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River as well as the vast freshwater lakes of Poyang and Dongting in central China could rise, returning to dangerous levels seen in early July after intense summer rains.

Due to its high vapour content, Beijing cautioned that Gaemi could spawn strong rainfall in the Chinese capital, about 2,000 km north of Putian, even as the storm weakens into a tropical depression.

Gaemi's rains could cause flash floods and waterlogging particularly in parts of northern China where the soil remains saturated after being lashed by a passing system of storms earlier this week, authorities warned.

'Strongest in years'

In Taiwan, Gaemi killed three people, triggered flooding and sank a freighter after the strongest typhoon to hit the island in eight years made landfall on Wednesday night.

Some parts of southern Taiwan are expected to have recorded rainfall of 2,200 mm (87 inches) since Tuesday. The storm cut power to around half a million households, though most are now back online, utility Taipower said.

Apart from the three fatalities, 380 were injured by the typhoon in Taiwan, the government said.

Taiwan's fire department said a Tanzania-flagged freighter with nine Myanmar nationals on board had sunk off the coast of the southern port city of Kaohsiung.

Three of them have since been found alive on the shoreline, Taiwan's coast guard said.

Taiwanese television stations showed pictures of flooded streets in cities and counties across the island.

Li Li-chuan, 55, saw the roof of her restaurant blow off in the northeastern Taiwanese city of Suao.

"I was frightened," she told Reuters. "It was the strongest in years. I was worried that the roof would hit other people."

Offices and schools as well as the financial markets closed for a second day on Thursday, while trains were stopped until 3 pm (0700 GMT) and all domestic flights and 195 international flights were cancelled.

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