BEIJING: Typhoon Doksuri swept into southern China on Friday (Jul 28), unleashing heavy rain and violent gusts of wind that whipped power lines and sparked fires, uprooted trees and forced factories and shopping malls to shut.
The typhoon is the second-strongest to hit southeastern Fujian province since Typhoon Meranti in 2016 and it forced the closure of schools, businesses and the evacuation of workers from offshore oil and gas fields, state media said.
Doksuri has affected more than 724,600 people, said state-run CCTV, with 124,400 people evacuated and resettled. So far, the storm has caused direct economic losses of 52.27 million yuan (US$7.30 million), it said.
In the Fujian port city of Quanzhou, 39 people were reported to have suffered minor injuries, and more than 500,000 homes lost power, according to the government’s official WeChat account.
There were no immediate reports of fatalities. In 2016, at least 11 people died when Meranti made landfall near the port city of Xiamen.
Doksuri’s wind speed was clocked at 137kmh as of 1 pm, according to the National Meteorological Center.
Hourly rainfall in Xiamen, Quanzhou and Putian exceeded 50mm, according to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA).
“The whole of Xiamen didn’t go to work this morning,” a local resident, surnamed Zhuang, said.
“There are no cars on the roads, and factories and shopping malls are closed. Guess people are scared after Meranti.”
Source: CNA
