33 dead, 6.51 million affected as Typhoon Lekima hit East China

Monday, August 12, 2019

Typhoon Lekima slammed East China leaving 33 dead and affecting the lives of about 6.51 million people. The typhoon had made landfall on Saturday in the eastern province of Zhejiang with winds of up to 187kph.

Thousands of bus, rail and air services were cancelled on Saturday leading to travel chaos. Over 3,200 flights were cancelled since Saturday, although some suspensions on high-speed railway lines were lifted on Sunday.

In Zhejiang, many of the deaths occurred about 130 km north of the coastal city of Wenzhou, where a natural dam collapsed in an area. The area received 160 mm of rain within three hours, causing a landslide.

The Ministry of Emergency Management said that more than one million people had been evacuated from Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, and from the financial hub of Shanghai, due to Typhoon Lekima. Qingdao city in Shandong had issued a red alert for heavy rain on Sunday and shut all its tourist destinations to the public. About 21,000 service personnel and military officers were deployed for search and rescue efforts.

By midday Sunday, more than 189,000 hectares of crops and 36,000 homes in Zhejiang were destroyed, as per the provincial authorities, estimating the economic losses at 16.6 billion yuan ($2.35 billion).

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