Year's Most Powerful Storm Wrecks Havoc in China, Hong Kong
The year’s most powerful typhoon slammed into southern China, leaving more than 2 dozen dead, local authorities said Monday.
By Sadho Ram — 23 Sep 2013, 02:47 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
Typhoon Usagi killed at least 25 people after crashing ashore in southern China
A motorist tries to get round a fallen tree blocking a road in Shantou, in southern China's Guangdong province on Sunday, as Typhoon Usagi approaches.
Image via arabnews.comTyphoon Usagi, which was the season's strongest storm at its peak, forced hundreds of flight cancellations and shut down shipping and train lines before weakening to a tropical depression over the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on Monday.
independent.ie
China said 25 deaths occurred in Guangdong, where the typhoon made landfall late Sunday near Shanwei with record sustained winds for the city of 175 kilometres per hour.
theaustralian.com.au
The victims included people hit by debris and others who had drowned. One man was killed by a falling window pane. "It is the strongest typhoon I have ever encountered," Xinhua quoted Luo Hailing, a gas station attendant in Shanwei, as saying. "So terrible, lucky we made preparations."
aljazeera.comThe storm, characterized by meteorologists as the most powerful anywhere on Earth this year, earlier killed two people in the Philippines and sparked landslides in Taiwan while en route to southern China. Nine people in Taiwan were reportedly injured by falling trees.
People react as waves splash on to the road during Typhoon Usagi in Hong Kong yesterday
Typhoon Usagi produced winds of 165 km per hour
Typhoon Usagi made landfall in China on Sunday, bringing strong waves in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.
Image via bbcimg.co.uk
China's weather agency warned about downpours that the typhoon would bring to parts of the southern coast
Image via bbcimg.co.ukWinds of up to 180 km/h (110 mph) were recorded in some areas, toppling trees and blowing cars off roads. Its victims drowned or were hit by debris. The storm has affected 3.5 million people on the Chinese mainland.
Usagi – Japanese for 'rabbit' – was classified as a severe typhoon. The typhoon shut down one of the world's busiest sea ports and severely disrupted flight schedules from the US and Europe.
More than 80,000 people were evacuated to safety in China's Fujian province
China's National Meteorological Centre issued its highest alert, with more than 80,000 people moved to safety in Fujian province and authorities deploying at least 50,000 disaster-relief workers, state Xinhua news agency reported.
aljazeera.comThe storm wreaked havoc on travel plans just as many passengers were returning home after an extended weekend for the Chinese mid-autumn festival
More than 250 incoming and outgoing flights were cancelled in Hong Kong, and an additional 200 were delayed, Airport Authority Hong Kong said.
Intercity trains including the high-speed rail to Beijing, Shenzhen and Hong Kong were suspended until Tuesday, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
independent.ie
Visitors take pictures of tidal waves under the influence of Typhoon Usagi in Hangzhou
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