Chinese authorities evacuate hundreds of thousands, cancel flights ahead of

More than a million people have been forced to move away from their homes after Typhoon Chan-hom made landfall in the Zhejiang province. About 100 flights were cancelled yesterday and some long-distance bus and train services also stood suspended.

Power supplies in Zhoushan City, into which Chan-Hom slammed, were also knocked out by the typhoon’s high winds. And 28,764 ships were called back to port, confirmed the Provincial Flood Control Bureau.

China stands in the warpath of an extremely powerful typhoon.

Up to 650,000 people were evacauted from the coast of Zhejiang before the storm made a landfall.

China’s National Meteorological Centre warned that Chan-hom could be the worst typhoon to strike the region since 1949.

Approximately 1 million people were evacuated as a precaution in Zhejiang and another 46,000 in the neighboring province of Jiangsu, according to local emergency management services, which reported no lives lost in the typhoon.

Zhejiang was battered by gales and torrential rain, resulting in hundreds of flights being canceled and many highways closed, local authorities said Saturday.

All flights to and from Zhoushan were cancelled and bus services and speedboat ferry services halted.

DEADLY: Monster 10ft waves lashed China’s coast after killer typhoon Chan-hom struck [AP].

“Most coastal damage from hurricanes and typhoons tends to come from ocean flooding as the storm surge inundates all low-lying areas: the entire ocean surface will rise by tens of centimetres as the Chan-hom passes”, McElwee said.

A typhoon brought strong winds and heavy rainfall to South Korea’s southwest coast Sunday, forcing mass cancellations of domestic flights linking Seoul with provincial cities.

Heavy downpour was reported in some areas, including the village of Lai’ao, which recorded more than 400 millimetres (16 inches) of rain.

Chan-hom is the second weather disturbance that has hit mainland China this week.

Typhoon Nangka, a much stronger storm, will post a threat to Japan in a couple of days.