Chinese authorities yesterday confirmed that 13 people had died after a bus plunged into a rushing river amid heavy flooding that has caused 15 other fatalities in the north of the nation.
State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) said another 37 people from the bus had been rescued, among which seven were hospitalized, and the driver had been placed in custody. One person remained missing.
The crash occurred on Monday after heavy rains caused flooding that destroyed homes and covered farmland in two provinces near Beijing.
Photo: EPA-EFE
News Web site The Paper said that the bus driver ignored warnings not to attempt to cross the bridge that was almost covered by the surging floodwater.
Video posted online showed people on top of the almost-submerged bus as water was flowing over the nearby bridge outside the Hebei Provincial capital of Shijiazhuang.
In Shanxi Province, 15 people have died in floods that have caused a direct economic loss of more than 5 billion yuan (US$775 million), CCTV reported.
More than 120,000 people had been evacuated in the province as thousands of houses collapsed and 190,000 hectares of crops were damaged.
Floods have also disrupted coal mining operations in the area amid a nationwide shortage of the fuel. The stoppage comes as the Chinese government is trying to address power shortages that have affected industry and even some homes.
Shanxi Province has also shuttered 166 tourist sites after flooding damaged a section of an ancient city wall in the historic town of Pingyao, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong battened down yesterday evening for the second time in less than a week as Tropical Storm Kompasu prompted forecasters to raise their alert level and trigger safety measures.
It is the second major storm to threaten the territory with torrential rain and high winds in five days.
As of 5pm yesterday it was 480km south of Hong Kong packing winds of up to 110kph.
The Hong Kong Observatory issued a T8 — its third-highest storm warning — at 5:22pm.
The order stopped ferries and many bus routes from operating, although the territory’s subway system continued running.
Schools had already sent students home earlier in the day ahead of the order, with many offices following suit.
Forecasters on Saturday also declared a T8 warning when the outskirts of Tropical Storm Lionrock pounded the territory with torrential downpours and high winds.
Although the epicenter of that storm remained hundreds of kilometers to the south of Hong Kong, the T8 warning lasted for 22 hours, the longest typhoon signal since 1978, bringing about 460mm of rain over two days.
Many residents were taken by surprise at the ferocity of Lionrock, which first began battering the territory on Friday last week.
The observatory came under fire for not issuing a T8 earlier, but forecasters said the winds had not picked up to the speed where such a warning was warranted.
The facility added that storms like Lionrock were becoming harder to predict and model for, partly because of climate change.
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
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CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old