Tens of thousands of people were evacuated to safety as Typhoon
Bilis hit east China's Fujian Province on Friday.
The typhoon struck Xiapu County, 220 kilometers northeast of
Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian, at 12:50?AM on Friday,
according to the Fujian Provincial Meteorological Observatory.
Top wind speed near the center was 30 meters per second. Bilis
is now heading northwest at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour.
About 256,000 people, mainly fishermen and farmers, and 42,000
ships have been evacuated from their homes and out of the sea,
according to sources from the provincial flood control and drought
relief headquarters.
The provincial fishery bureau directed more than 8,900 fishing
boats back to harbor and all those aboard back to land by
Friday.
In neighboring Zhejiang Province, 70,000 people were
evacuated.
Thunderstorms trigged by the typhoon have forced the
cancellation of 14 flights as a safety precaution since Thursday
night at Fujian's Changle International Airport, according to
airport authorities.
Airport officials said they would reschedule the flights as soon
as possible, adding that the flight times are dependent on the
weather.
Meanwhile, water conservation workers checked reservoirs in
preparation for flooding as the storm was expected to bring
rainfall of up to 250 millimeters from Thursday night, reports
said.
The provincial government of Fujian has urged all relevant
departments to be fully prepared to deal with the storm and any
ensuing landslides.
Neighboring Zhejiang Province was hit by strong rainstorms on
Friday, with maximum rainfall reaching 239 millimeters.
According to Zhejiang provincial flood control and drought
relief headquarters, Bilis brought to the province winds measuring
10 to 12 on the Beaufort Scale at sea and winds measuring six to
eight on land.
As of Friday afternoon, rainfall at 32 hydrological stations
reached above 100 millimeters, with a maximum of 239 millimeters in
Huangyan.
Before it approached the mainland, the tropical storm lashed the
province of Taiwan, drenching the island with downpours and leaving
one person dead and two missing, reports said.
The typhoon weakened into a tropical storm on early Friday after
making landfall near the northeastern port of Ilan around midnight.
One man was electrocuted in Taipei on Thursday and two mainland
fishermen went missing after a fishing boat ran aground off
Taiwan's Matsu Island, officials of the island said.
Taiwan's two largest airlines, EVA Airways and China Airlines,
cancelled their flights from the southern city of Kaohsiung to
Macao, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, airport officials said.
Flights and trains were mostly grounded on Thursday, officials
said. Ferries between Taiwan and Green Island and Orchid Island
were also halted, stranding more than 100 tourists.
The storm caused a series of landslides that disrupted traffic
in central and eastern Taiwan, but did not inflict major injuries,
they said.
"Bilis' wide outer bands will continue to affect Taiwan and
residents have to prepare for torrential rains in the next two
days," island forecaster Wu Teh-rong said.
The death toll from Bilis rose to 14 with seven missing in the
northern Philippines, authorities reported on Friday. It hit the
country on Wednesday, causing a series of landslides and flash
floods.
(China Daily July 15, 2006)