Tropical storm Nanmadol hits southeast China

The Qiantang River recorded its highest level in 10 years, due to the Tropical Storm Nanmadol [Reuters]

Tropical storm Nanmadol has made landfall in southern China, bringing heavy rain and causing damage to areas close to the coast, but there were no reports of casualties, authorities said.

“An estimated 138,000 people have been evacuated, 110 houses destroyed and another 600 damaged as Nanmadol, the 11th tropical storm to hit China this year, skirted the coast of Fujian Province,” China’s state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

Nanmadol killed at least 16 people in the Philippines over the weekend and on Monday a motorcyclist was killed in Taiwan, where landslides also trapped more than 300 people in a remote village.

Precautionary measures

The storm had weakened by the time it hit the southern Chinese province of Fujian in the early hours of Wednesday, China’s National Meteorological Centre said.

As a precaution government officials in Fuijan recalled more than 44,000 boats carrying over 119,000 fisherman to harbour as a precaution against Nanmadol.

The province also suspended shipping services and warned that bullet train services might be slowed or halted.

Fujian province’s two major airports in Xiamen and Fuzhou cities said that flights had already returned to normal, and shipping services were also expected to resume quickly.

The storm quickly weakened after landing, prompting the government to downgrade it to a tropical depression and lift all warning signals.

However, local media in Fujian reported substantial damage to crops, and weather officials warned the remnants of the storm could bring heavy rain to the region for the next three days.