Typhoon Chan-hom Hits Chinese Coast

Typhoon Chan-Hom made landfall on Saturday afternoon in east China, bringing gales and heavy rain to Zhejiang and neighboring provinces and forcing evacuation of over 1 million people. No injuries have been reported, but more than 90 homes collapsed and almost 12,000 businesses closed due to flooding.

Firefighters in Ningbo City were dispatched to typhoon-hit areas to remove damaged advertising boards on buildings. It initially was deemed a super-typhoon, but was downgraded at midday yesterday to a strong typhoon, and was weakening further as it moved inland.

The national weather service claims it’s the most powerful storm to hit the country since 1949. More than 1,000 flights have been canceled at the city’s two airports.

Chan-hom is expected to make landfall south of Shanghai later on Saturday.

Fujian, Guangdong, and Zhejiang province on the Chinese mainland and Taiwan have all made preparations for Typhoon Linfa and Typhoon Chan-Hom.

The BBC reported that Chan-hom arrived at the city of Zhoushan in the Chinese province of Zhejiang at around 4:40 p.m. local time.

No casualties have been reported yet, Xinhua said.

Authorities in Zhejiang said the province may face 1.9 billion yuan ($410 million) in economic losses, with agriculture the worst affected, Xinhua said.

Take a look at some of the pictures that show the power of Typhoon Chan-hom.

In neighbouring Jiangsu Province, more than 46,000 people have been evacuated and 21,691 ships recalled to port. Many flights were cancelled out of Nantong and Nanjing.

Shanghai forecast the typhoon would “brush” within 100 kilometres (62 miles) of the city late Saturday or early Sunday as it veered into the Yellow Sea, according to a local government posting on its official microblog.

They say there could be more flight cancellations later in the day so passengers need to check if their flights are available before heading to airports.

Out at sea, Chan-hom was whipping up waves of up to 10m high, the US Government’s Joint Typhoon Warning Centre said.