BEIJING (AP) — Typhoon Doksuri made landfall in China on Friday after causing deadly landslides as it passed through the Philippines.
The storm hit eastern Fujian province in the morning after bringing torrential downpours and gale-force winds to parts of Taiwan, especially the Penghu archipelago, also known as the Pescadores Islands.
In the Philippines, a week of storms over the main island, Luzon, killed 39 people, including the 26 victims of a passenger ship capsizing. At least 13 more were killed in the Doksuri onslaught, mostly from landslides, floods and falling trees, and thousands more were displaced, a disaster management department official said. More than 20 people were still missing, including four coast guards whose boat capsized during a rescue mission in one of the hardest-hit provinces, Cagayan, authorities reported Friday.
The storm caused widespread power outages and damage to agriculture in the archipelago, as well as the suspension of work, classes and sea travel at the worst moment of the onslaught, said Philippine authorities, who were monitoring a new storm. .
China beefed up preparations for the typhoon’s arrival with text messages and social media announcements. In Fujian, more than 400,000 people were taken to safety, hundreds of ships returned to port, and transportation was suspended. The closure of businesses and the paralysis of summer classes were also ordered, and the population was asked not to leave their homes. In the city of Quanzhou, the wind blew off part of the roof of a stadium, but no injuries were immediately reported.
After hitting the coast, most typhoons tend to lose strength as they move into the mountainous interior of southeast China, although they sometimes linger over the sea, dumping heavy rainfall.
