Typhoon In-Fa uprooted trees and drenched communities in knee-deep water in parts of eastern China, but there were no reports of major damage as it made landfall yesterday.
In-Fa landed in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province, at 12.30pm, with a maximum wind force of 137kph, the China Meteorological Administration said.
Sea, air and rail traffic was shut down across a swathe of the coast centered on Zhejiang’s major shipping port of Ningbo.
Photo: AFP
Local authorities ordered schools, markets and businesses to close, and relocated more than 100,000 people, media reported.
Response teams in Ningbo cleared away fallen trees in the city center, while residents in some neighborhoods waded through floodwaters and merchants piled up sandbags in front of their businesses to keep out water.
In-Fa’s effects were also felt in Shanghai yesterday, with strong gusts of wind and steady but not heavy rainfall.
All inbound and outbound flights were canceled for the city’s two international airports, as were dozens of scheduled trains, while activity at the ports of Shanghai and Ningbo — two of the world’s largest — was also shut down.
The government announced that it would extend a suspension of railway services in and out of Shanghai through midday today.
The typhoon hit as the central province of Henan was still cleaning up after torrential downpours dumped a year’s worth of rain in just three days last week.
The meteorological administration said that after landfall In-Fa would weaken, but continue to hover over a wide expanse of eastern China for days, ringing itself out and bringing heavy rainfall, possibly to areas still recovering from last week’s flooding.
“It is necessary to be highly vigilant and prevent disasters that may be caused by extreme heavy rainfall,” the administration said.
Government officials yesterday added another five dead to the toll from the flooding in Henan, raising the total to 63.
As rescue efforts continued, it was reported that a man in central China was found after spending three days trapped in a flooded underground garage.
Li Yongsheng (李永勝) was found on Friday afternoon in a garage under the Jincheng International Plaza in Zhengzhou’s Jinshui District, news site The Paper said.
It said he was trapped when the garage flooded on Tuesday and he lay on a ventilation duct surrounded by floating cars, the Web site said.
Li was photographed being guided by rescue workers through chest-deep water before being taken to hospital.
Direct economic losses caused by the flooding are estimated at 13.9 billion yuan (US$2.14 billion), Xinhua news agency reported.
Additional reporting by AP and Bloomberg
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