China: Typhoon Gaemi hits mainland China after causing chaos in Taiwan, the Philippines. In advance of the storm, more than 150,000 residents in the province of Fujian in southeast China have been moved to safer locations.
It follows extensive flooding and at least 21 fatal landslides in Taiwan and the Philippines. Following the capsize and sinking of a tanker carrying 1.5 million litres of industrial fuel off the coast of the nation, the Philippines claims it is “racing against time” to stop the oil spill.
The ship was one of two that sank in the area on Thursday; the other one sank not far off the southwest coast of Taiwan.
As the storm approached its beaches on Thursday evening local time, China issued its highest-level catastrophe warning.
According to official media, Chinese President Xi Jinping presided over a meeting on flood control and disaster relief plans with the highest leadership of the Communist Party.
In Fujian, train services have been suspended, and authorities in northern China have issued a warning that heavy rains may cause flooding and landslides.
In the meantime, there is a “high risk” of natural disasters, according to the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters.
The weather in China is wildly unpredictable this summer, with intense downpours in the east and south and intense heatwaves in the north. Heavy rains usually fall there between mid-July and mid-August.
Gaemi is travelling along a path akin to that of Typhoon Doksuri from the previous year, which heavily flooded parts of northern China. However, its path may alter.
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