Typhoon Soudelor dumped heavy rain and winds in China yesterday, leaving 22 people dead or missing, collapsing homes and trees and cutting power to more than 1 million homes.
Soudelor made landfall in China’s Fujian Province late on Saturday night and was downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved across the region. Rains from the typhoon triggered mudslides in mountainous Pingyang County in Zhejiang Province, north of Fujian, killing nine people and leaving three others missing, the county government said.
The Fujian Civil Affairs Department said that the storm collapsed 36 houses and damaged 281 others. Authorities had evacuated more than 370,000 people and ordered about 32,000 boats back to port before the typhoon made landfall.
Photo: Reuters
State broadcasters showed people wading in knee-deep water in the provincial capital of Fuzhou and said that some streets were submerged under 80cm of water.
In Fujian, strong winds caused power outages to more than 1.41 million households before the storm made landfall, the official Xinhua news agency said.
Three airports were closed and more than 530 flights canceled, while more than 7,000 soldiers and police were on standby, provincial authorities said.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
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