Zee Media Bureau
Beijing: Bringing in stormy winds and torrential rains, Typhoon Fitow pummelled east China, killing at least two, snapping power lines and hitting rail and flight services.
Armed with winds of upto 151 km/h, the typhoon made a landfall a Fuding city of Fujian province and lashed the southeastern coast with rainfall of up to 29 centimetres.
As per the National Meteorological Centre, the typhoon that forced the evacuations of over half a million people, weakened to a tropical storm later.
Earlier on Sunday the authorities had issued a red alert — the highest warning — as the typhoon approached.
The storm is the 23rd typhoon to hit China this year.
Out of two killed, one person died after strong wind blew him off a hill when he was on his way to rescue a fisherman in Dongtou county.
Another person was killed in a separate incident in the same area, rescue headquarters said.
Fujian`s government said 177,000 people had been moved to safety and nearly 30,000 fishing boats called back.
The typhoon cut power in towns and counties in Zhejiang province while high-speed rail services in the region were suspended. At least 27 flights out of Wenzhou airport in Zhejiang were cancelled on Sunday, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
The power blackout also hit many townships in Cangnan, Wencheng, Pingyang and Dongtou counties in Zhejiang.
The typhoon has caused suspension of bullet trains in several cities in Zhejiang, Fujian and Jiangxi and halted services on at least 35 lines that pass cities on the typhoon route, including services between Beijing and Nanjing, Shanghai, Ningbo, Fuzhou and Xiamen.
Wenzhou Airport, a pivotal airport in Zhejiang province, cancelled 27 flights on Sunday, including flights to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Kunming.
Coach services between Shanghai and Wenzhou were also suspended yesterday.
Maritime authorities in Fujian and Zhejiang have closed seaside bathing centres and other entertainment facilities on the coast.
With Agency Inputs
