Typhoons line up in the NW Pacific

Twin typhoons roll in from the Pacific, threatening damaging winds and flooding rains for China and Japan

Storm surges are already hitting the coastline in Wenling, Zhejiang province as Typhoon Fitow approaches. [Reuters]

Eastern China is braced for the arrival of Typhoon Fitow which is expected to make landfall to the north of Taiwan late on Sunday. Meanwhile Typhoon Danas is following in its wake, but is expected to curve north into southern Japan later this week.

Hundreds of fishing boats, cargo vessels and oil tankers have been ordered back into port on the coast of Zhejiang Province. This came after China issued a red alert, the highest in its warning system, and urged local authorities to call in boats and move tourists visiting the coast and nearby islands during the week long National Day holiday.

More than 2,500 tourists were taken from Zhejiang’s Dalu Island. Similarly over 7,000 travellers were moved from the tourist resorts around Fujian Province.

Storm tide warnings have been issued as levels are expected to rise by as much as 90cm in coastal areas. Local traffic departments have also initiated precautionary measures, suspending marine routes and railway lines which might be impacted by Fitow.

In the case of Danas, which is currently following a similar path, we do expect the storm to veer north sometime on Monday and then head towards Kyushu and South Korea.

Typhoon Danas is significantly stronger than Fitow and even when it does make landfall, sometime around Tuesday, winds of around 165kph and gusts approaching 200kph are possible. That would make it equivalent to a Category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.

Source: Al Jazeera