China braces for typhoon

2005-08-06 11:21

Elaine Kurtenbach

Shanghai - Authorities evacuated more than one million people as Typhoon Matsa slammed into the coast of southeast of China's biggest city on Saturday, killing at least one person and knocking down street signs and buildings.

Residents of Shanghai, a city of more than 20 million and China's busiest port, were warned to stay home on Saturday and to take precautions to prevent injuries from blowing debris. Both of the city's airports were closed, with officials saying they would not open until mid-afternoon at the earliest.

One man died and three were injured when a tin and brick dormitory at a construction site downtown was destroyed by strong winds, state television reported.

After dumping torrential rains on Taiwan, the storm hit land near the city of Yuhuan in Zhejiang province and was about 300km south of Shanghai by early on Saturday.

Matsa was downgraded from a typhoon to a severe tropical storm on Saturday morning, according to the Hong Kong Observatory, with winds of below 118km/h. The storm was forecast to pass to the west of the city.

People stocking up

Shanghai reported only minor damage, with a few street and building signs knocked down and one downtown road tunnel flooded.

Supermarkets in Hangzhou were crammed with people stocking up on candles, flashlights and bottled water, the China Daily said.

"It is always better to prepare for the worst, so if there are blackouts and no water supply, we can survive," Tang Xin, a retired worker, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Forecasts were for up to 300mm of rain, as well as lightning, thunder and hail.

Matsa, named after a Laotian fish, swirled seas near Taiwan on Thursday, causing an estimated 36.49 million New Taiwan dollars ($1.14m) in damage to the island's agriculture, poultry and fishery industries.

On Friday, the government reported that flooding triggered by heavy rains in central China killed at least three people and left seven missing.

The latest fatalities raised the nationwide death toll from torrential downpours to at least 795 since China's summer rainy season began on June 1.

- AP