Two dead in Taiwan as Meranti slams into China
Digital Reporter
Thursday, September 15, 2016, 9:50 AM - The strongest storm of 2016 has slammed into southeastern China, a day after its powerful winds and torrential rains slammed Taiwan.
Super Typhoon Meranti was a category 5 storm at its peak, with maximum sustained winds of almost 300 km/h. It had weakened somewhat by Wednesday, when it passed just south of Taiwan, but was still powerful.
At least one person has been reported killed in Taiwan, along with 44 injured, according to state media. CBC reports around a million homes across the island were left without power, and 700,000 were without clean drinking water.
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The eye of the storm made a direct hit on the tiny island of Itbayat on Wednesday, which is located southeast of Taiwan, around 1:30 a.m. local time. The island is home to about 3,000 people.
The weakened storm was still at the equivalent of category 4 strength when it made landfall near Xiamen in China's Fujian Province Thursday morning local time, with winds near 230 km/h.
The BBC reports tens of thousands of people in the area have been evacuated, and numerous flights and train trips have been cancelled.
Chinese state media say one person is dead and another is missing.
In Xiamen itself, widespread power outages have been reported, and drinking water supplies have been threatened. The storm's winds have toppled trees, blown out winds and damaged numerous buildings, even toppling smaller ones, along with cars.
At sea, the very high waves have capsized ocean-going craft, even some moored in safe harbour.
The storm is currently tracking into China's interior, though it has been downgraded to a tropical storm and is expected to dissipate over the next couple of days.
Next up is a storm called Malakas, a category 1 typhoon currently curving toward Taiwan, though a direct landfall is not currently in the cards. The Joint Typhoon Warning Centre says the storm's sustained winds will peak at category 3 strength Friday and Saturday before weakening.
