Schools shut as Typhoon Megi slams into China

BEIJING — Typhoon Megi smashed into China yesterday morning and killed one person, after leaving a trail of destruction and four people dead in Taiwan.

Megi hit China with winds of around 120kmh, dumping heavy rain, according to China’s official Xinhua news agency.

One person died after several structures collapsed in Quanzhou in Fujian province, the official China News Service reported.

Chinese authorities issued their third-highest severe weather warning in anticipation of the storm.

Schools were shuttered across the province and train services cancelled.

Dozens of flights were affected and China Southern Airlines said it had cancelled 24 flights beginning from Tuesday.

Xinhua said more than 120,000 people who work close to shore or at sea have been moved by the authorities.

The province’s 31,700 fishing boats were also recalled to port to avoid the high winds.

Megi which swept through Taiwan on Tuesday injured more 523 people, including eight Japanese tourists.

Around 4,300 people remained in temporary shelters with more than 14,800 evacuated from their homes, according to Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operation Centre.

At its peak, Megi knocked out power for close to 3.8 million households, the second worst on record after the outage caused by Typhoon Soudelor in August 2015. A million households in Taiwan were still without power yesterday.

Megi hit as parts of the island were still recovering from Typhoon Meranti earlier this month, the strongest storm on the island for 21 years.

Meranti, which left one dead in Taiwan before killing another 28 as it moved to eastern China, was followed closely by the smaller Typhoon Malakas.

Typhoons are common at this time of year, picking up strength as they cross warm Pacific waters and bringing fierce winds and rain when they reach land. AGENCIES