At least 13 people were killed as a tornado ripped along China's coast while Typhoon Sepat battered the country further south, state media reported yesterday.
The tornado cut a corridor of destruction 800m wide in Zhejiang Province, destroying 156 houses on Saturday around Wenzhou City.
Eleven people were killed and more than 60 injured, six seriously, Xinhua news agency said.
In Fujian Province, two people were confirmed dead and another reported missing after Typhoon Sepat triggered flooding and mudslides.
Sepat landed in Fujian overnight packing winds of 119kph, Xinhua said.
The typhoon left a trail of damage, flooding roads, lifting roofs off houses and uprooting trees and billboards, Xinhua said, citing a local flood control official.
Expressways in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian, were closed, while 266 domestic and international flights from three provincial airports were cancelled, Xinhua said.
Air traffic returned to normal later yesterday, the Xinhua said.
A six-car goods train was derailed west of Fuzhou after a portion of track was swept away. No injuries were reported and workers restored the line, the agency said.
The typhoon dumped 300mm of rain over 24 hours in some parts of the province, damaging homes, crops and downing power lines.
More damage was expected in Huian County, the official said, as weathermen reported heavy rain in a number of cities in Fujian.
More than 900,000 people in southern and eastern Chinese provinces had earlier been relocated, including some 540,000 people in Fujian, Xinhua said, citing government officials.
Wide swathes of China have been plagued by nearly constant torrential downpours since the summer rainy season began.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS