The death toll from Typhoon Lekima has climbed to 44 in China, with a further 16 people missing, according to reports.
Around five million people in China’s eastern Zhejiang province have been affected by the storm so far, with a million evacuated to disaster avoidance and resettlement sites.
The Chinese weather bureau issued a red alert before Lekima made landfall in the region on Saturday, bringing heavy rain and 116mph winds.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Many of the deaths occurred after a natural dam collapsed following 6.2ins of rainfall in just three hours, reports Reuters.
On Sunday, the typhoon swept northwards along the coast, passing through the financial hub of Shanghai before hitting the coastal province of Shandong. Around 180,000 people were evacuated from Shandong, according to the regional Emergency Management Bureau.
All tourist resorts in the province’s popular Qingdao region were closed after a red alert was issued, with trains and long-distance bus services suspended, reports Reuters.
Chinese officials have put the national financial cost of the typhoon at 18 billion yuan (£2.1bn), with more than 36,000 homes and 364,000 hectares of crops damaged.
Before hitting China, the storm wreaked devastation in Taiwan and Japan’s southern Ryukyu Islands, where Lekima was temporarily upgraded last Thursday to a “super” typhoon - one that reaches sustained wind speeds of at least 120mph.
In Taiwan, more than 300 flights and most of the island’s high-speed rail services were cancelled last week, reports The Guardian. Markets and schools closed, and more than 40,000 homes were without power.
Lekima is the ninth typhoon to hit China so far this year, and local weather experts say it is among the three strongest typhoons that Zhejiang has ever experienced, reports the BBC.
The storm is expected to weaken as it leaves the Shandong coast and heads over the ocean east of Beijing.
-
Fannie Flagg’s 6 favorite books that sparked her imaginationFeature The author recommends works by Johanna Spyri, John Steinbeck, and more
-
Google: A monopoly past its prime?Feature Google’s antitrust case ends with a slap on the wrist as courts struggle to keep up with the tech industry’s rapid changes
-
Patrick Hemingway: The Hemingway son who tended to his father’s legacyFeature He was comfortable in the shadow of his famous father, Ernest Hemingway
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarrayIn the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
