Typhoon
Wipha destroyed hundreds of homes and disrupted power and water
supplies to thousands of residents in Eastern China on Wednesday,
forcing the evacuation of two million people from their homes,
before being downgraded to a tropical storm.
Despite earlier fears that the typhoon would directly hit Shanghai,
it made landfall south of the country's financial centre, in
Cangnan County, in the eastern province of Zhejiang, registering
winds of 45 meters per second.
This is the second consecutive year that the county has been
struck by a severe typhoon, following last year's devastation
by Typhoon Saomai. Rainfall in some areas of Zhejiang was recorded
at levels of 162mm and rivers and reservoirs are already at
their warning levels.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs said 669 homes had been destroyed
in Zhejiang and there were reports of widespread disruption
to power and water supplies.
The neighbouring inland provinces of Jiangxi and Anhui were
also put on alert for heavy rains and possible related flooding.
"Anhui province is still reeling from the floods in July,
with thousands of families still living temporarily with neighbours
and relatives, so this is a fresh blow to an already vulnerable
population," said Carl Naucler, the Federation's head of
representation for East Asia.
On July 30, the International Federation launched an emergency
appeal to help survivors of the floods earlier in the month,
calling for 9.46 million Swiss francs (US$ 7.69 million or €
5.7 million) for relief supplies, reconstruction and disaster
prevention work.
Faced with typhoon Wipha, the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC)
has taken preparatory measures, with local branches collecting
reports from the affected areas, liaising closely with government
bodies.
Despite the fact that Zhejiang province, the area hit directly
by the typhoon, is one of China's more developed regions, the
RCSC's Disaster Relief Department in Beijing plans to dispatch
some 200,000 RMB (CHF 31,433) worth of relief items to the affected
areas, through the Zhejiang Red Cross branch, to help the most
vulnerable communities.
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A
father and his daughter row a boat as they play on a flooded
street after a powerful typhoon hit Wenling, east China's
Zhejiang province September 19, 2007. Typhoon Wipha abruptly
lost strength after it crossed the eastern coast of China
on Wednesday and looked set to miss Shanghai as it headed
north. However, the storm toppled hundreds of homes and
knocked out power and water supplies as it swept in from
the sea some 650 km (400 miles) south of the country's
financial hub. (REUTERS/Stringer/courtesy www.alertnet.org)
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