Typhoon Sepat has swept along the southern coast of China, killing at least 15 people and forcing nearly one million to leave their homes for safer areas.
Thirteen people were killed and more than 60 injured, six seriously, as Sepat tore through Zhejiang province, Xinhua news agency said.
"The bizarre wind smashed all the windows of our four-storey building and tore down my mum's old house in no more than one minute," Zhang Zhongling, a 48-year-old villager, was quoted as saying.
The typhoon hit mainland China packing winds of 119km per hour and unleashing torrential rains.
Typhoon Sepat has brought heavy downpours to southeastern China after officials had relocated people to safer areas.
In southeastern Fujian province, two people were confirmed dead and another reported missing after flooding and mudslides were triggered.
People relocated
More than 900,000 people in southern and eastern China had been relocated before Sepat hit, including some 540,000 people in Fujian province.
In Huian county, buildings were damaged as roofs were lifted off by the strong winds, trees and billboards were uprooted.
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Sepat brought heavy downpours and winds
of up to 119km per hour to China [Reuters] |
More damage was expected , the official said, as weathermen reported heavy rain in a number of cities.
In Zhejiang province, nearly 300,000 people were moved to safety and 27,704 vessels called back to the harbour.
In Guangdong, around 70,000 people, including fishermen and residents in low-lying areas, had been relocated.
Chinese meteorologists have issued the highest-level warnings for Sepat, which was moving northwest at a speed of 15 to 20km per hour.
Expressways in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian, were closed, while 109 domestic and international flights at the city's airport were cancelled on Saturday.
Xiamen and Jinjiang cities also cancelled outbound flights, Xinhua said.
The ministry of civil affairs has sent 3,000 tents to evacuated people in Fujian.
Philippines flooding
Disaster officials in the Philippines said three people drowned in flooding after Sepat exacerbated monsoon rains in that country.
Nearly 550,000 people were affected by floodwaters in Manila and the northern provinces, and more than 3,500 people were sheltering in evacuation centres.
Parts of the capital and surrounding provinces remained under water on Sunday.
Taiwan's disaster centre said 27 people had been hurt as the typhoon hit before moving on to China.
More than 1,000 people fled their homes and power was cut to tens of thousands more.
Chang Chun-hsiung, Taiwan's premier, urged people be vigilant of the impact from the typhoon, even though the storm was slowly departing, a government statement said.