The remnants of Typhoon Krosa deluged eastern China yesterday,
snarling transportation, cutting power and flooding roads and
fields.
Armed police rescue residents from a
massive flood in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, October 8. Heavy
rain brought by tropical storm Krosa left many parts of the scenic
city under water.
More than 160 millimeters of rain has fallen on Shanghai since
the weekend, and late last night howling and chilly winds and heavy
falls continued to hit the city as the mercury plunged to 17
degrees Celsius.
The switch from balmy temperatures was triggered by a cold front
from the north hitting at the same time as Krosa.
And the forecast from the city weather bureau is for no relief
today from the rain and wind. The maximum temperature is expected
to be just 22 degrees and the minimum 17.
While Krosa was downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm on
Sunday, its fury was still felt in Shanghai with power outages and
flooding.
About 30 flights to the United States, Japan, South Korea and
Hong Kong were delayed or canceled at Pudong International
Airport.
City officials are not relaxing and are fully prepared in case
the storm returns. The wind became stronger soon after midnight on
Sunday at Wusong Port, near the mouth of the Yangtze River, and
reached speeds of up to 115 kilometers an hour by noon yesterday,
said Wang Jiqin, an official with the Wusong Maritime Safety
Administration.
"We are on alert and ready in case the gales attack the city
again in the next couple of days," Wang said.
A foreign sailor checking a ship's moorings at Wusong lost three
fingers when heavy seas and wind pushed the vessel suddenly toward
him. However, doctors are confident they can save the digits via
microsurgery thanks to the quick response by emergency crews.
Krosa has affected more than 7.6 million people in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces after it drenched the
mainland's southeast coast.
A woman wades through a flooded street in
front of her stalled car? in Hangzhou City?after Typhoon
Krosa slammed into Zhejiang, October 8.
Residents wade through water on a road in
Hangzhou City as Typhoon Krosa slams into Zhejiang October
8.
The storm prompted the evacuation of more than 1.41 million
people in the two provinces.
Krosa has brought an average rainfall of more than 200mm over
the past two days in Fujian and Zhejiang, destroying at least 3,500
houses and inundating parts of four counties, according to the
flood control and drought relief headquarters of the two
provinces.
It has caused 460 million yuan (US$61.3 million) in damage in
Fujian, while Zhejiang reported losses of 7.5 billion yuan.
The storm also paralyzed transportation services, cut off power
supplies, suspended schooling and tourist businesses in some
areas.
A train was derailed by a mudslide between the cities of Wenzhou
and Jinhua in Zhejiang, but its 600 passengers and crew escaped
uninjured.
Some outdoor events for the Special Olympics in Shanghai had to
be rescheduled.
Shanghai municipal government had relocated about 8,800 people,
mainly workers, by Sunday night from coastal areas amid gale-force
winds and torrential rain.
Taiwan wasn't so lucky, where Krosa left seven dead and 56
injured, in addition to cutting off power supplies and halting
highway and air traffic.
(Xinhua News Agency, Shanghai Daily October 9,
2007)
