Typhoon Podul hits China after injuring 100 in Taiwan!
Beijing, Aug 14 (EFE).
Typhoon Podul made landfall Thursday in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian, hours after crossing the island of Taiwan, where it left one person missing and 100 injured.
According to the Fujian Provincial Meteorological Observatory, the storm hit the coast of Zhangpu County at 12.30 am local time at the force of a severe tropical storm and with maximum sustained winds of 108 kilometers per hour near its center.
On Wednesday, Podul made landfall in Taimali township, in eastern Taiwan’s Taitung county, with sustained winds of 155 kph and gusts of up to 191 kph, before moving back out to sea toward the mainland.
In Taiwan, authorities reported one person missing, 100 injured, and 8,000 who were evacuated, as well as power outages, school suspensions, and flight cancellations.
The storm caused power outages on the island affecting more than 292,000 homes, of which some 42,000 remained without power overnight.
The heaviest rains were recorded in the southern county of Pingtung, with 446 millimeters in just 18 hours, causing flooding in several towns and the preventive evacuation of more than 1,000 residents.
Podul’s arrival in Fujian comes after that province and neighboring Guangdong activated a Level 2 typhoon emergency on Wednesday, the second highest in China’s four-level system, which requires the implementation of evacuation plans, the suspension of activities in exposed areas, and the deployment of rescue teams.
Extreme rainfall and strong wind gusts were expected in specific areas of southeastern Fujian and eastern Guangdong early Thursday morning.
Both provinces have ordered the strengthening of weather monitoring, the suspension of maritime and tourism activities in exposed areas, and the preventive evacuation of at-risk populations.
Typhoons are recurring meteorological phenomena in southeastern China and Taiwan during the summer and autumn seasons, when the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean foster the formation of cyclones that sometimes cause significant damage and disruptions to transport and business activity. EFE
