Typhoon Usagi hits southern China, killing at least 25 – ‘Usagi has devastated the eastern part of Guangdong’
23 September 2013 (CNN) – At least 25 people have died after Typhoon Usagi slammed into the coast of southern China, state media reported Monday. Bringing strong winds and heavy rain, Usagi forced the relocation of hundreds of thousands of people, the cancellation of hundreds of flights and the closing of a major shipping lane. “Usagi has devastated the eastern part of Guangdong,” where it made landfall late Sunday, the state-run news agency Xinhua said. The storm trashed construction sites, damaged hundreds of homes and cut off power and water, the news agency reported. Twenty-five people have so far been confirmed dead, it said.
At one point the most powerful storm so far this year, Usagi has menaced the region for days. It left at least two people dead and three others missing in the Philippines and at least nine people injured in Taiwan. The typhoon weakened Sunday as it got nearer to the Chinese coast, but was still packing sustained winds of around 160 kilometers per hour (100 mph) when it hit land. By Monday afternoon, it had faded to become a tropical depression. The densely populated financial center of Hong Kong, which had appeared to be in the storm’s path before it began to track in a more northerly direction on Sunday, avoided the worst of its fury. Seventeen people in the territory sought medical attention, eight of whom were admitted to hospitals, authorities said. […] In preparation for the storm’s arrival, four of six reactors at the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station in Shenzhen reduced their operating capacity, Guangdong authorities told Xinhua. A total of 226,000 people were relocated in Guangdong, the news agency cited the local civil affairs bureau as saying. The typhoon severely damaged or destroyed 7,100 houses, it reported. In neighboring Fujian Province, more than 80,000 people were evacuated and 50,000 disaster-relief personnel were deployed, Xinhua reported. [more]
Typhoon Usagi hits southern China, killing at least 25 
23 September 2013 (Al Jazeera) – A powerful typhoon hit Hong Kong and the southern China coast on Monday with winds that blew cars off the road, crippling power lines and causing flooding and the deaths of at least 25 people. Typhoon Usagi, the strongest storm to hit the Western Pacific this year, began pounding southern China late Sunday. More than 370 flights were cancelled, and financial markets closed for at least part of the morning. Shipping and train lines were also shut down before the Usagi weakened to a tropical depression over the southern China province of Guangdong on Monday. Earlier on Sunday, China’s National Meteorological Centre issued its highest alert, with more than 80,000 people moved to safety in Fujian province and authorities deploying at least 50,000 disaster-relief workers, state Xinhua news agency reported. China said 25 deaths occurred in Guangdong, where the typhoon made landfall late Sunday near Shanwei with record sustained winds for the city of 109 miles per hour. The victims included people hit by debris and others who had drowned. One man was killed by a falling window pane. Winds toppled trees, cranes and blew cars off roads in some areas, and brought down three major power lines in coastal Fujian, cutting off electricity to about 170,000 households, Xinhua said. “It is the strongest typhoon I have ever encountered,” Luo Hailing, a gas station attendant in Shanwei, told Xinhua. “So terrible, lucky we made preparations.” On Saturday the storm had been a super typhoon when it passed between Taiwan and the Philippines, sparing both of them the brunt of the winds. However, Philippine officials said eight people were dead from drowning and landslides, and Taiwan authorities reported nine people hurt by falling trees. […] Usagi lashed the east and south coasts of Taiwan on Saturday after slamming into the Philippines’ northernmost islands, where it cut communication and power lines and triggered landslides. Parts of Manila remained submerged Monday and classes were cancelled. Landslide deaths occurred in two villages in Zambales province west of Manila, Subic town mayor Jeffrey Khonghun said Monday, and two drowning deaths were reported previously.
