Tropical Storm Fengshen is expected to strike southeast China today. Both southeastern China and Taiwan will see heavy rain and thunderstorms because of the tropical storm.
A stationary front extending just south of Japan down to southeastern China near Hong Kong will trigger heavy rainfall and thunderstorms in the region. Japan will experience some lighter rain as a result of this system.
In Hong Kong, about 100 American sailors were left behind after a US Navy aircraft carrier departed early because of weather concerns, an official said yesterday.
The USS Ronald Reagan and its strike group left a day early on Sunday as Typhoon Fengshen headed toward the territory, said Dale Kreisher, spokesman for the US Consulate General.
The carrier attempted to recall all sailors enjoying shore leave in Hong Kong, but some were left behind.
“They have to go by the weather. The situation is that it looked like there was severe weather,” Kreisher said.
US officials were working to find flights to return the sailors to the carrier. He declined to say where the strike group — made up of the Ronald Reagan, a cruiser, three destroyers and a frigate — was heading, citing security reasons.
With about 6,000 sailors aboard, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier arrived in Hong Kong last Thursday and had been scheduled to leave port on Monday.
Typhoon Fengshen was threatening Hong Kong on Sunday, though its strength weakened to a tropical storm yesterday.
Fengshen pummeled a wide area of the Philippines last week, killing nearly 900 people.
Also see: Philippine divers find ‘many’ bodies in sunken ferry
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