BEIJING (AP) – A massive typhoon left one person dead in eastern China on Wednesday, a day after killing four and injuring more than 600 in Taiwan, where authorities remained on alert for the possibility of a landslide.
Typhoon Megi caused more than $10 million in damage as it swept across Taiwan before weakening into a tropical storm after hitting the coastal city of Quanzhou in China’s Fujian province before dawn, Taiwan’s weather service said. At its height, it was packing winds of up to 118 kilometers (74 miles) an hour, China’s National Meteorological Center said.
One person died after several structures collapsed in Quanzhou, the official China News Service reported. Schools were closed and dozens of flights were canceled.
In Fuzhou, Fujian’s capital, people were shown on state television walking through knee-deep waters that had swamped major roads. The storm was forecast to move northwest Wednesday and gradually fade away.
In Taiwan, nearly 4 million homes lost power and 10 provincial highways remained closed Wednesday, one day after heavy rain and sustained winds of 160 kilometers an hour blanketed the island, Taiwan’s official Central News Agency reported. More than 4,800 people remained in emergency shelters Wednesday afternoon.