Typhoon becomes tropical storm

2005-07-20 08:02

Shanghai - Haitang was downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm on Wednesday as it moved inland, drenching China's southeast and leaving a trail of destruction, a government spokesperson said.

More than one million people fled their homes before the storm roared ashore on Tuesday in coastal Fujian province after killing at least four people in Taiwan. There were no reports of deaths in China.

The storm's wind speeds slowed to 65km/h on Wednesday, down from 119km/h on Tuesday, said a spokesperson for the Fujian Meteorological Bureau. She would give only her surname, Gao.

"Haitang is a tropical storm now. It is continuing to become weaker," Gao said.

The storm was moving northwest and was expected to leave densely populated Fujian and move into neighbouring Jiangxi province at midday on Wednesday, Gao said.

State television on Tuesday showed villages in Fujian awash, their streets turned into rivers. Soldiers delivered boxes of food to people in temporary shelters.

More than one million people were evacuated from flood-prone areas to temporary shelters in Fujian and Zhejiang province directly to the north, China Central Television reported.

One correspondent said the harsh wind felt like sand pelting his face.

The airport was closed at Fujian's provincial capital, Fuzhou, and flights were diverted north to Shanghai or south to Xiamen, the agency said. Highways between Fujian and Zhejiang were also blocked.

Fuzhou is about 800km southwest of Shanghai, China's main commercial city.

China had braced for Haitang for days, with soldiers stacking sandbags along embankments.

Falling rocks killed a man in southeastern Taiwan, two women drowned in the north of the island, and a fourth victim was swept away by water while fishing in central Taiwan, the Centre for Disaster Response said. A fisherman was also reported missing.

Dozens were injured, mostly by falling trees and signboards, as swollen rivers pounded bridges and knocked away roads.

Separately, rains unrelated to the typhoon killed at least 13 people and wrecked houses and damaged farms this week in China's mountainous southwest, the government said on Tuesday.

Seven more people were missing after the rains swept through Sichuan province from Saturday to Tuesday, Xinhua said, citing officials.

- AP