Authorities in China and the Philippines yesterday said that a typhoon that tore through the northern Philippines before roaring ashore in southern China has killed at least nine people and left dozens of fishermen missing.
Typhoon Mujigae also prompted several strong tornadoes when it landed in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on Sunday, killing at least six people and injuring 168, local authorities said.
In one case, a tornado swept up a car and killed the person inside, Guangdong’s Department of Civil Affairs said.
Photo: Reuters
Xinhua news agency said one fisherman was also killed and another 16 were reported missing in China.
Mujigae, the 22nd typhoon of the year, went through the northern Philippines early on Saturday, causing floods and a few landslides. It left two dead and about 30 fishermen missing, regional Office of Civil Defense spokesman Mike Sabado said.
Nearly 200,000 people in southern China were evacuated before Typhoon Mujigae — which means “rainbow” in Korean — made landfall near Guangdong’s Zhanjiang City just afer 2pm on Sunday. China’s National Meteorological Center said.
By yesterday morning, the typhoon had moved into the neighboring region of Guangxi and its high wind speed dropped to 54kph. The region had ordered 12,700 fishing boats and 35,400 offshore workers to return to port.
The typhoon lashed southern China, including the resort island province of Hainan, where thousands of Chinese have flocked during the week-long National Day holiday that runs through Wednesday.
Scores of flights in and out of Hainan’s main airport in the provincial capital of Haikou have been canceled, and the high-speed rail service between Haikou and the tourist center of Sanya was suspended over the weekend.
More than 500 tourists were sheltering in hotels in Guangdong’s Fangji Island after attempts to evacuate them were disrupted by high winds, Xinhua reported.
Nearly 200 fishermen in the Philippines had been reported missing at the height of the storm, mostly from the provinces of Pangasinan and La Union, but most sailed back home after taking shelter or were rescued at sea.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was