Storm makes landfall in southeast China

KAOHSIUNG, Taiwan (AFP) — Typhoon “Podul” weakened to a severe tropical storm when it roared ashore in southeastern China early Thursday, state media said, after carving a path across Taiwan, shutting down businesses, grounding flights and knocking out power to thousands of homes.

Podul made its second landfall in Fujian province’s Zhangpu County, Chinese state news agency Xinhua said, citing the provincial meteorological observatory, reporting maximum sustained winds of 108 kilometers per hour (kph).

In mainland China, some schools in Guangdong paused classes while train and ferry services have been temporarily halted, China state broadcaster CCTV said.

Parts of other provinces such as Hunan and Jiangxi in central China will also see heavy to torrential rain, CCTV added.

On Wednesday, wind gusts of up to 178 kph were recorded shortly before the typhoon slammed into Taiwan’s Taitung County, the country’s Central Weather Administration (CWA) said.

One person is missing after he went fishing and was swept away, and 112 have been injured, disaster officials said.

More than 8,000 people were evacuated from their homes.

As “Podul” swept across storm-battered central and southern areas of Taiwan, it toppled dozens of trees and triggered flooding.

Streets in the port city of Kaohsiung were littered with fallen branches.

“Kaohsiung, Tainan and Chiayi will become major rainfall hotspots tonight, with increasing rain also expected in Penghu and Kinmen,” CWA Administrator Lu Kuo-chen told a briefing attended by President Lai Ching-te.