JINAN, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- The latest on typhoon Lekima hits east China: (all times local)
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10:30 am, Aug. 12
Typhoon Lekima has left five people dead and seven missing after making landfall in the coastal areas of east China's Shandong Province Sunday night.
The typhoon has inflicted losses in 79 county-level areas in Shandong, affecting 1.66 million people and forcing the relocation of 183,800, said the provincial emergency management department.
A road is damaged by the flood in Xinzhai Township of Linqu County, east China's Shandong Province. (Xinhua/Fan Changguo)
Heavy rains and strong gales have damaged 175,400 hectares of crops and toppled 609 houses, inflicting a direct economic loss of 1.48 billion yuan (211 million U.S. dollars), it said.
The disastrous weather is not yet over, and the rescue and relief work is underway.
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17:00 pm, August 11
A total of 30 people have died and 18 remain missing after super typhoon Lekima made landfall in eastern China's Zhejiang Province on Saturday, local authorities said on Sunday.
Most of the deaths occurred in Yongjia County, administered by Wenzhou City, where torrential downpours caused a landslide that blocked a river. The barrier lake burst and flooded waters swept people away.
Nearly 1.08 million people have been evacuated to safe places, and close to 5 million people in Zhejiang were affected, said the provincial flood control headquarters.
Lekima, the ninth typhoon and the strongest this year, landed around 1:45 a.m. Saturday in the city of Wenling in Zhejiang, packing winds of 187 kilometers per hour and bringing heavy rainstorms.
In Zhejiang, the typhoon damaged more than 173,000 hectares of crops and 34,000 houses. The direct economic loss amounts to 14.57 billion yuan (about 2.1 billion U.S. dollars), the headquarters said. Rescue operations are underway.
Policemen transfer the flood-stranded people in Putuo scenic area of Zhoushan City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Aug. 10, 2019. (Photo by Zou Xunyong/Xinhua)
On Saturday, heavy downpours flooded the 1,600-year-old town of Linhai, about one and half hour drive north from where the typhoon landed. The town was completely inundated, and rescue workers had to navigate on inflatable boats and evacuate residents. Floodwater started to retreat on Sunday, rescuers said.
Over 16 civilian rescue teams have volunteered to rescue stranded residents in Linhai, local authorities said.
As the typhoon swept through Shanghai, about 253,000 people in the city have been evacuated to safe places, Shanghai flood control authorities said.
On Sunday, Lekima was moving northwards and will churn up the east coast of Shandong Province.
It is expected to make a second landing along the coastline in Shandong late Sunday, bringing strong wind and heavy downpours, the National Meteorological Center warned.
Shandong air traffic management bureau said the typhoon will greatly affect traffic in airports of the area. A total of 47 flights have been adjusted.
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11:00 am, August 11
A total of 28 people died and 20 remain missing after super typhoon Lekima made landfall in east China's Zhejiang Province on Saturday, local authorities said on Sunday morning.
Most of the deaths occurred in Yongjia County, administered by Wenzhou City, where torrential downpours caused a landslide that blocked rivers. The barrier lake bursted and flooded people away.
Nearly 1.08 million people have been evacuated to safe places, and close to 5 million people in Zhejiang were affected, said the provincial flood control headquarters.
Pedestrians walk against heavy rain on Changning Road in Shanghai, east China, Aug. 10, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Ying)
Lekima, the ninth typhoon of this year, landed around 1:45 a.m. Saturday in Zhejiang, bringing heavy rainstorms and triggering flash floods.
In Zhejiang, the typhoon damaged more than 173,000 hectares of crops and 34,000 houses. Direct economic loss amounts to 14.57 billion yuan (about 2.1 billion U.S. dollars), the headquarters said. Rescue operation is underway.
Lekima is moving northwards and will churn up the east coast of Shandong Province on Sunday.
It is expected to make a second landing along the coastline in Shandong late Sunday, bringing strong wind and heavy downpours, the National Meteorological Center warned on Sunday.
Shandong air traffic management bureau said the typhoon will greatly affect traffic in airports of the area. A total of 47 flights have been adjusted.
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23:00 pm, August 10
The death toll has risen to 22 due to a typhoon-triggered barrier lake burst in eastern China's Zhejiang Province, said local authorities.
As of 8 p.m. Saturday, 10 people were still missing, said a source with the publicity department of Yongjia County.
With a maximum wind force of 187 km/h, Typhoon Lekima, the ninth of the year, made landfall at about 1:45 a.m. Saturday in Wenling City, Zhejiang, with Yongjia County the worst hit.
Typhoon Lekima brought heavy rainstorms in Yongjia County and caused a landslide that blocked rivers, raising the water level to a maximum of 10 m within 10 minutes and trapping 120 villagers.
People take a rubber dinghy while wading through a waterlogged street in Wenling, east China's Zhejiang Province, Aug. 10, 2019. (Xinhua/Han Chuanhao)
More than 420 armed police and firefighters were dispatched to the scene to help with the rescue work.
Communication service has been restored, and water and electricity supply and road repair are underway.
Typhoon Lekima is expected to move at about 15 km per hour northward and westward with abatement of wind, according to the weather forecast.
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17:00 pm, August 10
Thirteen people are dead and 16 others are missing as of 2 p.m. on Saturday due to a barrier lake burst as Typhoon Lekima swept through Zhejiang Province in eastern China, the local publicity department said.
Typhoon-triggered heavy rainstorms hit the Yongjia County and caused a landslide that blocked the rivers with a maximum 10-m water level, trapping 120 villagers.
Local residents wade through a waterlogged area in Wenling, east China's Zhejiang Province, Aug. 10, 2019. (Xinhua/Han Chuanhao)
More than 300 local armed police, public security officers and other social rescuers were dispatched to the scene.
Rescue work is underway.
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23:00 pm, August 9
China's National Meteorological Center issued a top-level red alert for Typhoon Lekima on Friday morning, as it is expected to make landfall in the coastal areas of eastern Zhejiang Province Saturday.
At 8 a.m., the center of Typhoon Lekima, the ninth typhoon of the year, was about 290 km southeast of the city of Wenling in Zhejiang, with a maximum wind force of 209 km/h.
The typhoon will move northwest at a speed of about 13 km/h, with gradually weakening force, the center said, adding that it will land in the coastal areas in Zhejiang Province Saturday morning.
At noon on Friday, Zhejiang raised its emergency response to the top level. The province has shut down multiple entries of local highways and suspended sections of its railway lines. Wenzhou Airport in the province has canceled 92 flights.
The province has suspended ferry rides on Beiji island, a tourist attraction off the east coast, and evacuated over 200 tourists there.
Passengers queue to refund or reschedule their journeys at Hongqiao Railway Station in east China's Shanghai, Aug. 9, 2019. (Xinhua/Chen Fei)
From Friday to Saturday, Lekima is expected to bring heavy rain to the provinces of Anhui, Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and the municipality of Shanghai.
Beginning Friday, Shanghai will close 72 popular tourist sites including parks and museums for up to three days for safety reasons due to Typhoon Lekima, said the city's cultural and tourism bureau.
The bureau has also initiated an emergency response plan regarding the city's outdoor entertainment facilities of seaside parks.
At 9:00 a.m., east China's Jiangsu Province raised its emergency response to level III, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.
Due to the rain, Jiangsu has suspended over 130 trains departing from the provincial capital Nanjing in the following days.
At 16:00, east China's Shandong raised the emergency response for dangerous waves to a yellow alert as possible giant waves up to seven meters are likely to buffet the region starting from Saturday night to Sunday, according to the Beihai bureau of the Ministry of Natural Resources.
A total of 60 trains including 25 high-speed railways will be suspended or rescheduled from Friday to Sunday, according to China Railway Zhengzhou Group and China Railway Wuhan Group in central China.
Shandong Airlines will cancel a total of 107 flights up until Saturday and five non-direct flights have be rescheduled to direct ones.
Eleven high-speed railways will be closed on Saturday, said an official with the Hefei branch of China Railway Shanghai Group.
