Death, mayhem reign as typhoon rocks mainland

Fujian officials said a landslide killed two people and left another one missing yesterday.

The storm lashed the central and northern parts of Fujian with gales and rain. Within 24 hours up to 8am yesterday, rainfall topped 300 millimeters in two areas of Fujian and 200 millimeters in 11 counties and cities. Fujian has 95 counties, cities and prefectures.

The typhoon damaged 366 houses in Quanzhou, inundated 5,920 hectares of crops, and cut off road traffic and power supply lines, affecting 162,600 people and inflicting an economic loss of 72 million yuan, local authorities said.

Heavy rains caused by Sepat also led to a train station collapsing west of Fuzhou, Fujian's capital, causing the derailment of six carriages of a cargo train.

Some air traffic was halted in Fujian but resumed later yesterday, Fujian authorities said.

Sepat late yesterday morning weakened to a strong tropical storm, experts said. It moved northwest and is expected to enter Fujian's neighboring Jiangxi Province this morning.

Source: China Daily