Typhoon Fung Wong, the eighth tropical storm hitting China this year, weakened into tropical storm early on Tuesday after making landfall in Fuqing, Fujian Province late on Monday.

Walking in the storm

The storm continued to move northwest on Tuesday.

It is expected to reach Jiangxi Province late on Tuesday and hover there for three more days, producing an extra 150 millimeters of rain, on average, in the northern areas of Jiangxi by Saturday, the provincial meteorological observatory predicted.

The Fujian observatory said the eye of the powerful typhoon landed at Donghan Town, Fuqing City at 10 p.m. with winds of up to 119 kilometers per hour and torrential rain.

From 8 a.m. on Monday through 7 a.m. on Tuesday, 14 counties and cities in Fujian had 100-199 mm of rain, and two local rivers flooded.

In Zhejiang Province, some 40 hydrological stations measured 200 mm of rain from 8 a.m. on Sunday to 8 a.m. on Tuesday. In Wenzhou, Zhejiang, rain totals 334.5 mm, and 156,864 people were evacuated to higher ground by midnight on Monday.

Some freeways were closed, while 16 flights in Wenzhou were canceled and one was diverted on Monday.

Boats bump on waves along the coast of Changle, Fuzhou City, capital of southeast China's Fujian Province, July 27, 2008. Typhoon Fung Wong, which was lashing Taiwan on Monday morning, continued to strengthen as it headed toward the southeastern coast of mainland China, according to the observatory of Fujian Province. (Xinhua/Jiang Kehong)

(Xinhua News Agency July 29, 2008)?