BEIJING (AFP) – China warned of flash floods and landslides as Typhoon Fanapi made landfall on the mainland Monday, one day after slamming Taiwan with heavy rains, leaving more than 100 injured on the island.
The storm weakened as it ploughed into the southern provinces of Fujian and Guangdong early Monday, but was still packing winds of 125 kilometres (75 miles) an hour, the government’s flood headquarters and state media said.
Fanapi — the 11th typhoon to hit southern China this year — was moving to the northwest at a speed of about 20 kilometres an hour, dumping torrential rains in its wake, meteorologists said.
“It is possible that Fanapi will sweep across Guangdong province and bring serious flooding and geological disasters to the region,” the provincial flood headquarters warned.
Local authorities had ordered over 55,000 fishing boats in Fujian and another 60,000 in Guangdong to seek shelter in safe harbours ahead of the storm.
In Fujian, a large section of the retaining wall in the coastal city of Quanzhou collapsed, China Central Television reported, while strong winds uprooted trees and flattened fences.
There were no reports of storm-related deaths or injuries on the mainland as of mid-day Monday.
Fanapi made landfall in Taiwan on Sunday near the eastern coastal city of Hualien. More than 100 people were injured. Television footage showed fallen trees, several houses with their roofs ripped off and an upturned lorry.
Schools and offices in storm-affected areas remained closed Monday.